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JBRARY OF CONGRESS. 

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T'HE LIFE 



MARGARET FOX. 



WIFE OF GEORGE FOX. 



f — 



COMPILED FROM HER OWN NARRAttfe AND OTHER SOURCES J 



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WITH A 



SELECTION FROM HER EPISTLES, Etc. 




PHILADELPHIA: 

PUBLISHED BY THE 

ASSOCIATION OF FRIENDS FOR THE DIFFUSION OF RELIGIOUS 
AND USEFUL KNOWLEDGE, 

109 North Tenth Street. 

1859. 






■»* 



& 




PKEFACE. 



The Society of Friends has numbered within its 
ranks many eminent women, who have enunciated 
and explained its doctrines and testimonies, both by 
their ministry and writings ; and have illustrated its 
Christian faith by the consistency of their lives and 
conversation, and their patience under persecution. 
Amongst these, none shone more conspicuously, in 
the early days of the Society, than the subject of this 
memoir. Having been convinced by the baptizing 
ministry of George Fox, she became a faithful mem- 
ber of the church ; her influence and reputation in 
the community, as well as her ministry and writings, 
greatly contributing to advance the cause of truth. 
As a preacher of the Gospel, she was fervent and 
weighty ; as a writer, bold, earnest and persuasive ; 

(iii) 



IV PREFACE. 

in her disposition, charitable and hospitable ; and a 
warm sympathizer with the afflicted and persecuted. 
Her works having been long out of print, and 
almost unknown in this country, it is believed that 
the following compilation, giving a brief account 
of her life, a selection from her epistles, and a few 
extracts from her other writings, will prove accept- 
able to the reader. 



LIFE 



MAEGAEET FOX 



CHAPTER I. 1614-1658. 

HER BIRTH — PARENTAGE — MARRIES THOMAS FELL, AND SET- 
TLES AT SWARTHMORE — RELIGIOUS LIFE — VISITED BY 
GEORGE FOX — SHE AND HER CHILDREN CONVINCED — DIS- 
PLEASURE OF HER HUSBAND — LETTER FROM R. FARNSWORTH 

JUDGE FELL RECONCILED, AND A MEETING ESTABLISHED 

AT HER HOUSE TESTIMONY OF A. PIERSON AND WILLIAM 

CATON TO THE EXEMPLARY CHARACTER OF THE FAMILY — 
DEATH OF HER HUSBAND — HIS CHARACTER — LETTER OF 
CONDOLENCE FROM A. PIERSON — THEIR CHILDREN. 

Margaret Fox was born at Marsh Grange, in 
the parish of Dalton, in Fournis, Lancashire^ Eng- 
land, in the year 1614. She was the daughter of 
John Askew, who was of an ancient and honourable 
family • he was honest, pious and charitable, and a 
man of estate and education. 

She was married, in her eighteenth year, to 
Thomas Fell, of Swarthmore, a barrister-at-law, after- 
wards a justice of the Quorum in his county, a member 
1* (5) 



6 LIFE OF 

of several Parliaments, vice-chancellor of the county 
Palatine of Lancaster, and also a judge in the circuit 
of West Chester and North Wales, &c. Strict in- 
tegrity and love of justice, tempered with mercy and 
moderation, were conspicuous traits in his character. 
In the seventy-sixth year of her age she wrote a 
short biographical sketch, rehearsing some of the 
principal events of her life, which has been largely 
used in the preparation of this work ; in which, 
speaking of her husband, she says : — " We lived 
together twenty-six years, in which time we had nine 
children. He was a tender and loving husband to 
me, and a tender father to his children, and one that 
sought after God in the best way that was made 
known to him. I was about sixteen years younger 
than he, and was one that sought after the best 
things, being desirous to serve God, so that I might 
be accepted of Him; and was inquiring after the 
way of the Lord, and went often to hear the best 
ministers that came into our parts, whom we fre- 
quently entertained at our house ; many of those that 
were accounted the most serious, godly men, some of 
whom we then called lecturing ministers ; and often 
had prayers and religious exercises in our family. 
This I hoped I did well in, but often feared I was 
short of the right way ; and after this manner I was 
inquiring and seeking about twenty years, when, in 
1652, it pleased the Lord, in his infinite mercy and 
goodness, to send George Fox into our country, who 
declared unto us the eternal truth, as it is in Jesus ; 
and by the Word and power of the eternal God, 



MARGARET FOX. i 

turned many from darkness unto light, and from 
the power of Satan unto God." 

The powerful and awakening nature of the spi- 
ritual ministry of George Fox, and the effect pro- 
duced by it on her own mind, and his discourse on 
this occasion, she thus describes : — 

" Our house being a place open to entertain min- 
isters and religious people, one of George Fox's 
friends brought him thither, where he staid all 
night; and the next day being a lecture or fast-day, 
he went to Ulverstone steeple-house, but came not in 
till people were gathered; I and my children had 
been a long time there before. And when they were 
singing, before the sermon, he came in; and when 
they had done, he stood up, upon a seat or form, and 
desired ' that he might have liberty to speak f and 
he that was in the pulpit said he might. And the 
first words that he spoke were as followeth : ' He is 
not a Jew that is one outward, neither is that cir- 
cumcision which is outward ; but he is a Jew that is 
one inward, and that is circumcision which is of the 
heart/ And so he went on and said 'that Christ 
was the light of the world, and lighteth every man 
that cometh into the world ; and that by this light 
they might be gathered to God/ &c. I stood up in 
my pew, and wondered at his doctrine; for I had 
never heard such before : and then he went on, and 
opened the Scriptures, and said : ' The Scriptures 
were the prophet's words, and Christ's and the apos- 
tles' words ; and what, as they spoke, they enjoyed 
and possessed, and had it from the Lord :' and said : 



8 LIFE OF 

1 Then what had any to do with the Scriptures, but 
as they came to the spirit that gave them forth. You 
will say Christ saith this, and the apostles say this ; 
but what canst thou say ? Art thou a child of light, 
and hast walked in the light ; and what thou speak- 
eth, is it inwardly from God/ &c. This opened me 
so, that it cut me to the heart; and then I saw clearly 
we were all wrong. So I sat down in my pew again, 
and cried bitterly ; and I cried in my spirit to the 
Lord : i We are all thieves ; we are all thieves ;* we 
have taken the Scriptures in words, and know no- 
thing of them in ourselves/ So that served me, that 
I cannot well tell what he spoke afterwards ; but he 
went on declaring against false prophets, priests and 
deceivers of the people. And he came to our house 
again that night, and spoke in the family amongst 
the servants, and they were all generally convinced. 
And I was struck into such sadness, I knew not what 
to do, my husband being from home. I saw it was 
the truth, and I could not deny it ; and I did as the 
apostle saith : i I received the truth in the love of it f 
and it was opened to me so clear, that I had never a 
tittle in my heart against it ; but I desired the Lord 
that I might be kept in it, and then I desired no 
greater portion." 

George Fox, in describing the circumstances at- 
tending his visit to Swarthmore at this time, after 

* Probably in allusion to John x. 1: " Verily, verily, I 
say unto you, he that entereth not by the door into the 
sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a 
thief and a robber." 



MARGARET FOX. \) 

relating his controversies with the parish priest, Lam- 
pitt, and his" discourses on religious subjects with M. 
Fell and her children, in which they were measura- 
bly convinced, says that, " soon after, a day was to 
be observed for a humiliation; and Margaret Fell 
asked me to go with her to the steeple-house at Ul- 
verstone, for she was not wholly come off from them. 
I replied : i I must do as I am ordered of the Lord. 
So I left her, and walked into the fields ; and the 
word of the Lord came unto me, saying : i Go to the 
steeple-house after them/ When I came, Lampitt 
was singing with his people ; but his spirit was so foul, 
and the matter they sung so unsuitable to their 
states, that after they had done singing, I was moved 
of the Lord to speak to him and the people. Then, 
as the Lord opened further, I showed them that He 
was come to teach His people by his spirit, and to 
bring them off from their old ways, religions, churches 
and worships; for all their religions, worships and 
ways were but taking other men's words ; but they 
were out of the life and spirit which those were in 
who gave them forth. Then cried out one Justice 
Sawrey: 'Take him away;' but Judge Fell's wife 
said to the officers : i Let him alone ; why may he 
not speak, as well as any other V Lampitt, also, the 
priest, in deceit said : i Let him speak/ So at length, 
when I had declared a pretty while, Justice Sawrey 
caused the constable to put me out; and then I 
spake to the people in the grave-yard." 

Margaret Fell continues : " And when I and my 
children, and a great part of our servants, were so 



10 LIFE OF 

convinced and converted unto God, my husband was 
not at home, being gone to London. When he came 
home, and found us the most part of his family- 
changed from our former principles and persuasions, 
which he left us in, he was much surprised at our 
sudden change ) for some envious people, our neigh- 
bours, went and met him, and informed him that we 
had entertained such men as had taken us off from 
going to church, which he was very much concerned 
at, and seemed much troubled. 

And it so happened that Richard Farnsworth, 
and some other Friends (that came into our parts a 
little after George Fox), were then at our house J and 
they discoursed with him, and did persuade him to 
be still, and weigh things before he did anything 
hastily, and his spirit was somewhat calmed. And 
after he had heard them speak awhile, he was better 
satisfied. I desired them to stay, and not go away, 
for George Fox will come this evening. And I 
would have had my husband to have heard them all, 
and satisfied himself further about them, because 
they had so prepossessed him against them, of such 
dangerous, fearful things. And then he was pretty 
moderate and quiet; and his dinner being ready, 
he went to it, and I went in and sat me down 
by him. And whilst I was sitting, the power of the 
Lord seized upon me ; and he was struck with amaze- 
ment, and knew not what to think. And the chil- 
dren were all quiet and still, and grown sober, and 
could not play on their music, that they were learn- 
ing ; and all these things made him quiet." 



MARGARET FOX. 11 

"At night, George Fox came; and after supper, 
as my husband was sitting in the parlor, I asked if 
he might come in ? and he said i Yes/ So George, 
without any compliment, walked into the room, and 
began to speak presently; and the family, and James 
Naylor, and Richard Farnsworth, came in; and he 
spoke very excellently, as ever I heard him, and 
opened Christ's and the apostle's practices : and if 
all England had been there, I thought they could 
not deny the truth of these things." 

George Fox relates : " Soon after Judge Fell 
being come home, Margaret his wife desiring me to 
return thither, aiid I feeling freedom of the Lord so 
to do, went back to Swarthmore. I found the priests, 
and professors, and Justice Sawrey, had much in- 
censed Judge Fell and Captain Sands against the 
truth by their lies; I answered all his objections, 
and so thoroughly satisfied him by the Scriptures, 
that he was convinced in his judgment. After we 
had discoursed a pretty while together, he was satis- 
fied, and came to see, by the openings of the spirit 
of God in his heart, over air the priests and teachers 
in the world, and did not go to hear them for some 
years before he died ; for he knew it was the truth 
I declared, and that Christ was the teacher of his 
people, and their Saviour." 

The following letter, addressed to Margaret Fell 
by Richard Farnsworth, a few months after, may 
serve to show the continued interest he took in her 
convincement and establishment in the truth : — 



12 LIFE OF 

"Balhie, Yorkshire, 12th month, 1652. 
Dear Sister: — 

Mind to stand in the council of the Lord, 
which will keep down everything that would be 
exalted, and will not suffer thee to conform to any- 
thing but that which is pure. Oh! be faithful, be 
faithful to what thou knowest ; and stand perfect in 
the will of the Lord ; and the Lord will keep thee, 
in His own power to Himself, and arm thee every 
way with His love and power. Stand in His council, 
and it will discover all the consultations of the 
enemy; and will scatter all imaginations, and will 
not suffer them to take place in thee, being but obe- 
dient to Him. Love not the world, but mind that 
which would draw thee to live in the pure obedience 
of Him who is pure ; and standing in the pure fear, 
it will take away all slavish fears, and it will not 
suffer thee to conform to the world in anything ; but 
thou wilt be preserved in obedience to the Lord in 
what he doth require; for the fear of the Lord 
keepeth the heart clean ; and it will keep thee clean, 
and open to receive the teachings of the Father. 
Oh ! stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ has 
set thee free, and it will keep thee from the entan- 
glements of the world ; and thy preservation will be, 
in standing in the council of the Lord, who is the 
mighty Counsellor, the everlasting Prince of peace ; 
who will lead thee and guide thee into the everlast- 
ing kingdom of the Father, where there is peace and 
joy, rest, quietness and assurance forever ! Give 
thyself up wholly to the Lord, who will preserve thee 



MARGARET FOX. 13 

in faithfulness and purity ; and the everlasting Lord 
God Almighty keep thee, and all the rest of our dear 
Friends, in the power of His love, and in the power 
of His truth, perfect in His will ) that ye may grow 
from strength to strength, and be established in the 
everlasting truth ; and that He alone may be glori- 
fied, who is Lord of lords, and King of kings; to 
whom be glory, and honour, and praise, and thanks, 
for ever and ever ! Amen. 

I received thy letter, which did much rejoice 
me. When thy letter, with James and George, came, 
I was then gone towards Derbyshire, where I met 
with a gathered church. I have been in much ser- 
vice since I came from you. Friends are much em- 
boldened and courageous, who have had great oppo- 
sition and persecution here away; but all is at a 
stand ; the enemy is much in silence 5 and the Lord 
carries on His own work, much to His own praise ; 
to Him alone be glory, and honour, for ever and 
ever ! 

My dear, love in the Lord presents itself to you 
all, to thy son George, and to thy daughters, and to 
all those thy servants in the truth of God ; and the 
Lord cause them all to grow up into the truth, that 
He may be exalted amongst you all. Ah ! my dear 
hearts, prize the love and mercy of the Lord, and 
daily mind your growth into that which is eternal ; 
and the everlasting love and power of the Lord 
keep you all in faithfulness to Him in what you 
know. Keep in the cross, and purity will grow. 
The safest way is in the cross; take up the cross 
2 



14 LIFE OF 

daily; mind to be guided by that which crosseth 
your own wills, and it will bring every idle word, 
thought and deed to judgment in you; and so the 
old man will be crucified, with the affections and 
lusts thereof; and you shall find the Lord to sit as a 
refiner, to judge out all the old leaven, the old 
nature; and so the new man will be raised up ; and 
Christ, the power of God, will rule and reign in 
righteousness in you, who is the King of saints ; to 
Him alone be all praise and thanks forevermore! 
Amen ! " 

Although Judge Fell did not openly unite with 
Friends, or attend their meetings, he was very favour- 
able to their views, and generally sat in an adjoining 
room, where he could hear, without appearing to join 
in their worship. Some Friends, in his presence, 
speaking of the difficulty in obtaining a place to hold 
their meetings in that part of the country, he 
promptly and generously offered them his own house, 
saying : " You may meet here, if you will ;" and 
notice being given, u there was a good large meeting 
there the next first-day," which was the first held at 
Swarthmore, where a meeting was established, and 
continued from 1652 to 1690. The room appro- 
priated for this purpose was the large hall on the 
ground-floor, at one end of which, within the space 
of a bay window, the floor is raised two steps. In 
this place, it is said, George Fox and his wife 
usually took their seats, and the other ministering 
Friends, when present. From this window George 



MARGARET FOX. 15 

Fox often preached to the people assembled in the 
adjoining orchard, when they were unable, from 
their numbers, to meet within. 

George Fox's fame, spreading with his doctrine, 
usually caused a large company to assemble to hear 
him, when he visited Swarthmore. At one time, 
Judge Fell, upon returning home, rinding his stables 
filled with the horses of these strange guests, com- 
plained to his wife of the large accession of new 
comers, saying, if this continued, they would soon be 
eaten out, and have no provender left for themselves. 
To this she pleasantly replied, that charity doth not 
impoverish ; and notwithstanding all this extra con- 
sumption, she fully believed that, at the end of the 
year, he would have no cause to regret their hospi- 
tality. And so it proved, for the same year the crop 
of hay was so abundant, that they had not only plenty 
for themselves, but a large surplus to sell. 

The example of this excellent family doubtless 
exercised a powerful influence on the minds of many 
who came within the sphere of its influence, inviting 
them to come taste and handle for themselves of the 
good Word of life, of which they had been made par- 
takers, by yielding obedience to the requirings of 
truth. Several of their household became preachers 
of righteousness in word and conversation, and were 
instrumental in turning many from darkness to light, 
and from the power of Satan to God. Anthony 
Pierson, in a letter dated in 1653, thus describes the 
impressions which a visit to Swarthmore produced on 
his mind : " Oh ! how gracious the Lord was to me 



16 LIFE OF 

in carrying me to Judge Fell's, to see the wonders 
of His power and wisdom ; a family walking in the 
fear of the Lord, conversing daily with Him, cruci- 
fied to the world, and living only to God. I was so 
confounded, all my knowledge and wisdom became 
folly; my mouth was stopped, my conscience con- 
vinced, and the secrets of my heart were made mani- 
fest, and that Lord was discovered to be near, whom I 
ignorantly worshipped. I have seen at Judge FelFs, 
and have been informed from that precious soul his 
consort, in some measure what those things mean, 
which before I counted the overflowing of giddy 
brains. Dear heart, pity and pray for me, and let 
all obligations of former friendship be discharged, in 
well wishes to the soul of the old family friend, that 
he may partake with them of your heavenly posses- 
sion." 

In confirmation of this, is the testimony of William 
Caton, an inmate of the family. He says : — 

" Oh ! the love which in that day abounded among 
us, especially in that family ! and oh ! the freshness 
of the power of the Lord God, which then was 
amongst us ; and the zeal for Him and His truth, 
the comfort and refreshment which we had from His 
presence, the nearness and dearness that was amongst 
us one towards another, the openings and revelations 
which we then had ! my heart is affected with the 
remembrance of them at this very day. And hence 
came that worthy family to be so renowned in the 
nation, the fame of . which spread much among 
Friends ; and the power and presence of the Lord 



MARGARET FOX. 17 

Deing so much there with us, it was as a means to in- 
duce many, even from afar, to come thither j so that 
at one time there would have been Friends out of 
five or six counties : all which tended to the aug- 
menting of my refreshment. And on the other hand 
was I cherished and encouraged in the way of life 
by my entirely beloved friend Margaret Fell, who as 
a tender-hearted nursing mother cared for me, and 
was as tender of me, as if I had been one of her own 
children. Oh ! the kindness, the respect and friend- 
ship which she showed me, ought never to be for- 
gotten by me." 

Margaret Fell continues, speaking of her husband : 
u He lived about six years after I was convinced, in 
which time it pleased the Lord to visit him with 
sickness, wherein he became more than usually loving 
and kind to our friends called Quakers, having been 
a merciful man to the Lord's people. I and many 
other Friends were well satisfied, the Lord in mercy 
received him to Himself." 

His death occurred in the eighth month, 1658, he 
being about sixty years of age, leaving one son and 
seven daughters.* 

* The son's name was George ; the daughters, Margaret, 
married to John Rous ; Sarah, to William Mead ; Mary, to 
Thomas Lower ; Susanna, to William Ingram ; Rachel, to 

Daniel Abraham ; Isabel, to Yeomans, afterwards to 

Abraham Morris; and Bridget, to John Draper. These 
marriages all occurred after his death. 

John Rous suffered severe persecutions in New England, 
and in addition to many cruel whippings, had his right ear 
2* 



18 LIFE OF 

William Perm, speaking of him, says : " Being a 
just and wise nian, and seeing in his own wife and 
family a full confutation of all the popular clamors 
against the way of truth, he covered them what he 
could, and freely opened his doors, and gave up his 
house to his wife and her friends, not valuing the 
reproach of ignorant or evil-minded people ; which I 
here mention to his and her honour. That house 
was, for some years at first, till the truth had opened 
its way in the southern parts of the island, an eminent 
receptacle of this people." 

Alexander Parker thus condoles with her on the 
death of her husband, and bears testimony to his 
worth : " Dear Sister, be thou comforted and re- 
freshed; though an outward stay be taken from thee, 
the Lord, I know, will never leave thee nor forsake 
thee : thy house is not left desolate, but the Grod of 
Jacob will be thy refuge, and the Lord thy Maker 
is thy husband. It was but very lately I heard of 
the laying down of the body of thy husband, and 
truly it did at first sadden my spirit, knowing his 
dear love and tender care over the Lord's lambs." 

cut off. He was a native of Barbadoes, subsequently settled 
near London. William Mead was the companion of William 
Penn at the time of their persecution and celebrated trial 
at the Old Baily, familiar to all readers of Friends' history. 



MARGARET FOX. 19 



CHAPTER II. 1658-1662. 

LETTERS TO CROMWELL LETTER FROM A. RIGGE — GEORGE 

FOX APPREHENDED AT HER HOUSE HER ACCOUNT OF HIS 

APPREHENSION GOES TO LONDON INTERVIEW WITH KING 

CHARLES II. LETTER AND ADDRESSES TO HIM AND THE 

PARLIAMENT INSURRECTION OF THE FIFTH MONARCHY 

MEN — SOLICITS AND OBTAINS THE DISCHARGE OF G. FOX 

SEVERAL LETTERS TO THE KING, DUKE OF YORK, ETO. 

VISITS COL. HACKER IN PRISON — LETTER TO HER CHILDREN 

RETURNS TO LONDON ANOTHER INTERVIEW WITH THE 

KING RESPECTING THE IMPRISONMENT OF FRIENDS — RE- 
TURNS HOME LETTER TO THE KING LETTER FROM F. 

HOWGILL. 

This devoted woman, soon after her convincenient, 
felt called to plead the cause of the persecuted and 
oppressed before the rulers of the land. She fear- 
lessly approached the monarchs, and those in power, 
at various times during the course of her life, and 
laid before them the sufferings of Friends, explained 
their principles, and both by word and writing warned 
them of the consequences that would be likely to fol- 
low; that the righteous judgments of the Lord 
would be against such, who were persecuting others 
for conscience' sake. Her services in this way 
were of the most persevering and undaunted kind, 
and manifested her to be one in spirit and courage 
with her friend, George Fox. About this pe- 
riod, she addressed four letters to the Protector, 



20 . LIFE OF 

Oliver Cromwell; in the second/ she " bears witness 
to the spiritual worship of God, and to His mighty 
day, and teaching of His people Himself, and against 
all the outward formal worships which are without the 
spirit of truth, and of their overthrow ; and against 
all the dark forms, and shadows, and false coverings, 
which he had been under; charging him, in the 
presence of God, not to give way to the men of the 
world, to make laws over the consciences of his ser- 
vants, and to beware of hearkening to evil counsel- 
lors, that would make a prey upon the people for 
their own ends, lest he brought guilt, plagues, and 
woe upon himself." 

Ambrose Rigge thus bears testimony to the useful- 
ness and worth of M. Fell, at this time, in the 
church : — 

'Binscombe, in Surry, 9th mo. (11th mo.), 1659. 

Dear Sister — 

Often art thou in my remembrance, in my labour 
and travel in the vineyard of the Lord, which is 
grown sweet and pleasant to walk in, to the praise of 
God. I received thy lines in Hampshire, when I 
was in much weakness of body, by which I was much 
strengthened and refreshed ; and truly, dear sister, I 
hope in the Lord, through His strength, we shall be 
clear of all; but our trials are many, especially 
among false brethren, which as for the particulars at 
present I shall not commit to paper. Oh ! dear sis- 
ter, if it were not the living power of God, it could 
never abide all the blows that come against it ; but 



MARGARET FOX. 21 

in all this we faint not, but can truly say, our 
strength is renewed every morning — glory to God 
on high. 

My love is dear to thee, beyond what can be com- 
mitted to paper, for the truth's sake, and thy care 
over the flock of God; for which God will thee re- 
ward. So, with my dear love to all thy dear chil- 
dren and servants in the truth, I remain 

Thy dear brother in the labour of the Gospel, 

Ambrose Rigge." 

In the year 1660, George Fox was apprehended 
at her house, and committed to Lancaster prison. 
Gough, the historian, relates, that "Margaret Fell 
considering the forcible entry and searching of her 
house, and arresting of her guest there, as a viola- 
tion of the liberty of the subject, and an injury 
offered to her, published the following brief narrative 
of his apprehension : " 

" To all magistrates, concerning the wrong taking up 
and imprisoning George Fox at Lancaster : 

I do inform the governors of this nation, that 
Henry Porter, Mayor of Lancaster, sent a warrant 
with four constables to my house, for which he had 
no authority nor order. They searched my house, 
and apprehended George Fox in it, who was not 
guilty of the breach of any law, or of any offence 
against any in the nation. And they had him taken 
before the said Henry Porter, there was bail offered, 
what he would demand for his appearance, to answer 



22 LIFE OP 

what could be laid to his charge : but he (contrary 
to law, if he had taken him lawfully) denied to 
accept of any bail, and clapt him up in close prison. 
After he was in prison a copy of the mittimus was 
demanded, and which ought not to be denied to any 
prisoner, that so he may see what is laid to his 
charge ; but it was denied him, a copy he could not 
have, only they were suffered to read it over, and 
every thing there charged against him was utterly 
false ; he was not guilty of any one charge in it, as 
will be proved, and manifested to the nation. So let 
the governors consider it. I am concerned in this 
thing, inasmuch as he was apprehended in my 
house ; and if he be guilty, I am so too. So I de- 
sire to have this searched out. 

Margaret Fell." 

She further determined on a journey to London, 
to solicit the King's protection, and lay the circum- 
stances of George Fox's imprisonment before him. 

Her narrative proceeds : " In the year 1660, King 
Charles the Second came into England, and within 
two weeks after, I was moved of the Lord to go to 
London, to speak to the King concerning the truth, 
and the sufferers for it, for there were then many 
hundreds of our Friends in prison in the three nations 
of England, Scotland and Ireland, which were put 
in by former powers. I spake often to the King, 
and wrote many papers and letters unto him, and 
many books were given by our Friends to the Parlia- 
ment, and great service was done at that time. And 



MARGARET FOX. 23 

they were fully informed of our peaceable principles 
and practices. I staid in London at that time one 
year and three months, doing service for the Lord, 
in visiting Friends' meetings, and giving papers and 
letters to the King and council, whenever there was 
occasion. And I wrote and gave papers and letters 
to every one of the family several times, viz., to the 
King, to the Dukes of York and Gloucester, and to 
the Queen mother, to the Princess of Orange, and to 
the Queen of Bohemia. I was moved of the Lord 
to visit them all, and to write unto them, and did 
give them many books and papers, and did lay our 
principles and doctrines before them, and desired 
that they let us have discourse with their priests, 
preachers and teachers, and if they could prove us 
erroneous, then let them manifest it; but if our prin- 
ciples and doctrines be found according to the doc- 
trine of Christ and the Apostles and saints in primi- 
tive times, then let us have our liberty. But we 
could never get any of them to meet with our 
Friends. •Nevertheless they were very quiet, and we 
had great liberty, and had our meetings very peace- 
ably for the first half year after the King came in, 
until the Fifth Monarchy men raised an insurrection 
and tumult in the city of London, and then all our 
meetings were disturbed, and Friends taken up; 
which if they had not been, we were informed the 
King had intended to have given us liberty. For 
at that very time, there was an order signed by the 
King and council for the Quakers' liberty, and just 
when it should have gone to the press, the Fifth 



24 LIFE OF 

Monarchy men* arose, and then our Friends were 
very hardly used, and taken up at their meetings 
generally, even until many prisons throughout the 
nation were filled with them. Many a time did 
I go to the King about them, who promised me 
always that they should be set at liberty; we 
had several in the council friendly to us, and we 
gave many papers to them ; and with much ado, and 
attendance at that time, about a quarter of a year 
after their first taking Friends to prison, a general 
proclamation from the King and council was granted, 
for setting the Quakers at liberty. Then I had free- 
dom in spirit to return home to visit my children 
and family." 

By the solicitations of M. Fell and Anne Curtis 
(whose father had suffered death for endeavouring 
to bring in the King), they obtained, at this 
time, an order for the removal of Gr. Fox to Lon- 
don; he was brought up by habeas corpus, before 

* " Their leader was Thomas Venner, a wne cooper, 
who, in his little conventicle in Coleman street, warmed his 
admirers with passionate expectations of a fifth universal 
monarchy, under the personal reign of King Jesus upon 
earth, and that the saints were to take the kingdom to 
themselves. To introduce this imaginary kingdom, they 
marched out of their meeting-house towards St. Paul's 
churchyard, on Sunday, January 6, 1661, to the number of 
about fifty men, well armed, with a resolution to subvert 
the present government, or die in the attempt. This mad 
insurrection gave the court a handle for breaking through 
the late declaration of indulgence, within three months 
after it was published.' , — Neale. 



MARGARET FOX. 25 

the court of the King's bench; whence the matter 
was referred ta the King and council. No accuser 
appearing, to criminate him, he was honourably dis- 
charged, after an imprisonment of twenty weeks. 

In Margaret Fell's letters to King Charles the 
Second, and the Dukes of York and Gloucester, soon 
after their return to the kingdom, she " affectionately 
warns them in the sight of the Lord, the heart- 
searcher, not to slight the tenders of His love, lest 
they should he hardened ; wishing them to consider 
the goodness of the Lord in their several preserva- 
tions, and restoration out of their troubles, into the 
desired nation, throne and kingdom of their father, 
and not to take the glory and honour unto them- 
selves; but to let the Lord have the glory thereof, 
who restored them without the shedding of blood, or 
loss of lives. Acquainting them, how that God had 
a suffering people in the nation, which he hath 
owned, and will own, and reproved and overthrown 
powers for their sakes whom he has blessed. Signi- 
fying, also, that God had brought the King to the 
throne to try him, what he and they would do for 
His people, desiring them not to forget His benefits 
and mercies towards them, and that their hands 
might be kept out of blood and persecution ; for when 
the innocent were wronged and persecuted, God will 
plead for and stand by them," &c. Intimating " she 
was moved of the Lord to write to them beforehand, 
that they might not be found actors against God and 
his people } also warning them to take heed whom 
they let come near them, lest they should be betrayed 
3 



26 LIFE OF 

by dissemblers, or malicious and temporizing spirits 
who have turned with every power for their own 
ends." 

In her second letter to the King, she desires that 
he would " Take care for the nation as for his own 
family, that every one might enjoy his particular 
right and property, and liberty of conscience ; seeing 
God is delivering His people from under oppressors, 
that they may serve Him in freeness of spirit who 
hath heard the cry of the oppressed, and His ears 
are open to the prayers of the innocent. And that, 
therefore, it would be good for the King, that his 
ears should not be shut, lest his heart should grow 
hard, that he should not slight what they say unto 
him, who have a testimony for the Lord, and He 
will bear them witness, when He comes to make in- 
quisition for blood." 

In her third letter to the King, delivered by her 
own hands, on account of his proclamation for bring- 
ing to trial those who had been instrumental in the 
death of his father, she says : " Since God brought 
him into this nation in love and mercy without shed- 
ding of blood, or revengings, she wishes that he 
would consider this and show mercy; seeing the 
Lord saith to the merciful, I will show myself merci- 
ful, but to the froward I will show myself froward. 
Advising him not to look out at those that would in- 
cense him to revenge, which is not the will of God, 
nor good for the King, whose best way is to show 
mercy and forgiveness, and commit his cause to the 
God of heaven ; and let his heart be inclined unto 



MARGARET FOX. 27 

love and mercy, and to grant liberty to the tender 
consciences of the people; where God's throne is, 
there no plots, or evil intentions, or secret conspira- 
cies should ever prevail against him," &c. &c. 

The following letter she addressed to the King 
upon the death of the Duke of Gloucester : 

" The Lord is come very near thee. Oh ! that 
thou wouldst consider it, and see His hand, that 
thereby thou mayst learn righteousness, and do 
justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with the Lord, 
that so thy throne may be established; and that 
thou wouldst see the Lord testifying, that He doth 
not love pride, vanity and vain glory ; that now, in the 
very time of your joy, he hath turned it into mourn- 
ing. The God of power give you to understand His 
will and mind, that thou mayst make Him thy joy, 
who hath the life and breath of all men in His 
hand." 

During her sojourn in London, she paid a visit to 
Col. Hacker, a day or two before his execution, he 
being one of the judges of King Charles the First, 
and now condemned for the part he took in that 
transaction ; he also having been a very violent per- 
secutor of George Fox a few years before. She re- 
minded him of what he had formerly done against 
the innocent; he remembered it, and said he knew 
well to whom she alluded, and had trouble on him 
for it. 

It is related of her, that "as a tender mother, 



28 LIFE OF 

being sensible of the exercise and trial of her dear 
children, for her long absence from them, and 
family, she wrote many tender and consolatory letters 
to them for their encouragement in the truth, and 
satisfaction in the Lord on her behalf; excusing her 
long absence, as being so deeply engaged in His fear 
to clear her conscience, and for His suffering people's 
sake. Intimating to them how desirable it would be 
to her to return home to her dear and beloved chil- 
dren, so soon as the Lord pleased to clear her from 
her long and laborious attending, on behalf of His 
oppressed people." 

The following appears to be one of the letters 
alluded to : — 



"London, 25th of 8th mo. (10th mo.) 1660. 

My dearly beloved lambs and babes — My love is 
to you all ; and my prayer to the Lord is for you all, 
that in His arm and power you may be kept in the 
bosom of His love, there to be nursed and cherished 
up to eternal life. 

Gr. F. is now freed, blessed be the Lord God — 
whose arm and power alone hath done it — after he 
had appeared before the judge who sent for him; 
then he appeared before the Lord Chief Justice of 
England in his chamber ; and the next day he ap- 
peared before them all in open court, in the King's 
bench; and all this after the King had granted 
an order to set him free; but they would not set 
him free till he had appeared in all these places, to 



MARGARET FOX. 29 

see if any thing would come against him. It was of 
great service for the truth. 

I cannot write at £>resent punctually the time of 
my return, for I do feel that I am not yet clear of 
this place ; but do still wait for the Lord's will and 
pleasure, and in his time to be manifested to me; 
and may you rest satisfied in that, for there is ever- 
lasting peace, and there you will enjoy me. I do not 
know how suddenly the Lord may give me my free- 
dom to come home ; but when it is, I shall embrace 
it lovingly. Let me hear of the little ones, how it is 
with them all (you mention little of them when you 
write) ) and my desire is to hear of you all, and of 
your well being in the Lord. It may be that you 
have heard ere this, that James Xaylor hath finished 
his natural life, and hath laid down this body of 
earth about three-score miles off London. 

So no more, but my love in the Lord Jesus is with 
you ; and as soon as the Lord gives me leave, I shall 
return. The eternal arm of the Almighty be with 
you. M. F." 

" I staid at home about nine months, and then was 
moved of the Lord to go to London again, not knowing 
what might be the matter or business that I should 
go for. At Warrington, I met with an act of Parlia- 
ment made against the Quakers for refusing oaths. 
And when I came to London, I heard the King had 
gone to meet the Queen, and to be married to her at 
Hampton Court. At this time Friends' meetings at 
London were much troubled with soldiers, pulling 
3* 



30 LIFE OF 

Friends out of their meetings, and beating them with 
their muskets and swords; insomuch that several 
were wounded and bruised by them ; and many were 
cast into prison, through which many lost their lives ; 
and all this being done to a peaceable people, only 
for worshipping God, as they in conscience were per- 
suaded. Then I saw the King and Duke of York at 
Hampton Court, and I wrote several letters to them, 
and therein gave them to understand what desperate 
and dangerous work there was in London ; and how 
the soldiers came in with lighted matches, and drawn 
swords among Friends, when they were met in the 
fear and dread of the Lord to worship Him ; and if 
they would not stop that cruel persecution, it was 
very like that more innocent blood would be shed, 
and that would witness against their actions, and lie 
upon them, and the nation. And within some cer- 
tain days after, they beat some Friends so cruelly at 
the Bull and Mouth (meeting) that two died thereof. 

The King told me that his soldiers did not trouble 
us, nor should they, and said the city soldiers were 
not his, and they would do as they pleased with 
them ; and after a little time they were more mode- 
rate, and the King promised me that he would set 
those at liberty that were in prison; and when he 
brought his Queen to London, he set them at liberty. 

And then I came home again, when I had staid 
about four months in and about London." 

The following is the substance of a letter written by 
her and presented to King Charles the Second at Hamp- 
ton Court, upon the renewal of the persecution under 



MARGARET FOX. 81 

the law for " The preventing mischiefs and dangers 
that may arise "from certain persons called Quakers, 
and others, refusing to take lawful oaths : " 

1 King Charles — Often has the desire of my 
heart been to God for thee, that thou mightest be 
preserved out of persecuting the saints and people of 
God, who hath been gracious and long suffering, 
whilst moderation hath in some measure been kept 
to tender consciences; and certainly that promise 
that thou mad'st in true simplicity, as I do believe, 
was then in thy heart, that thou wouldst give liberty to 
tender consciences, I am assured it is upon record in 
the sight of the Lord God ; and thou art bound unto 
Him in thy conscience to perform. And therefore 
is my heart affected with the danger that thou in- 
currest ; seeing merciless men are set to work to come 
into the meetings of God's people, with swords, pis- 
tols and muskets, as if it were against thieves or 
open professed enemies. It is strongly on my heart 
once more to give thee warning to take care of 
these things, to take a little view of them betimes 
before it is too late. You have made an act against 
us, for what cause the Lord knows, we being harm- 
less and innocent, and tender towards you, although 
our sufferings have been great; but since you have 
made a law, it is unreasonable you should exceed it 
in severity. These things, with many more, are laid 
upon me from the Lord to lay before thee, who hath 
put power in thy hand to see righteousness and 
equity acted in the kingdom ; that you may not pro- 



32 LIFE OF 

yoke the Lord is the desire of my heart, who am a 
true and faithful lover of thy soul." 

The following beautiful letter was addressed to 
her in London by Francis Howgill, who subsequently 
ended his days in prison, for the testimony of the 
truth : — 

"Grayrigg, 29th of 7 th mo. (9th mo.), 1661. 
Dear Margaret — 

In Him, who has become a place of broad rivers 
and streams unto us, and the portion of our cup, and 
the lot of our inheritance, do I most dearly salute thee. 

The former days are not forgotten by me, nor the 
years past, when we were all made to drink of one 
cup, and were baptized into the death and suffering 
of Christ: and were made to drink it willingly, 
knowing it was our portion allotted unto us of the 
Lord, which we could not pass, but must drink 
thereof. And though it was irksome and grievous 
unto us, when our strength was but small, yet God, 
out of His infinite love and mercy, strengthened us 
to bear, and to suffer, and to deny that which hid 
immortality and life from us. And He bore us up 
in His arms, and made us to endure with patience 
the sufferings and the death ; that so we might ob- 
tain the resurrection of the dead : which indeed was 
a blessed time; though for a moment it seemed 
grievous. But now, having obtained the resurrec- 
tion of the dead, being baptized into the resurrection 
and into the life, more blessedness is known, even 
spiritual blessings, which God hath given us to enjoy 



MARGARET FOX. 33 

in heavenly places in Christ Jesus : that like as we 
suffered one for" another, and one with another, so we 
might be made to rejoice one with another, and for 
another, and in Him alone ; in whom all our fresh 
springs are, and from whom our joy and gladness 
and consolation spring. He hath opened the springs 
of the great deep, and hath made life spring up, 
whereby His little ones are refreshed, and the young 
men strengthened, and the ancient and honourable 
confirmed and established. Holy and revered be 
His name forevermore, who is exalting His glorious 
mountain above the top of all the earth ; and making 
Jerusalem the praise and glory and admiration of 
the whole earth. And let me tell thee, I am no 
more weary than the first day the sickle was put 
into the harvest; when we went out sowing the 
seed weeping and in tears : but seeing sheaves 
brought home, and full loads into the barn, and 
full draughts caught in the net, it hath made me 
look beyond fainting — blessed be the Lord. 

I am glad thou stay est so long in that city (Lon- 
don), in which we have had many a burden and 
weary day : but that fruit is brought forth unto 
God, plenteously countervails all, and makes me 
forget travail. I have been northward in Northum- 
berland, Bishoprick, and upon the east sea, and 
back to York : truly the garden for the most part is 
very pleasant, and gives a goodly smell, now when 
the south wind blows upon it. 

Dearly farewell in the holy covenant of life, 

Francis Howgill." 



34 life or 



CHAPTER III. 1662-1668. 

PERFORMS A RELIGIOUS VISIT IN SEVERAL COUNTIES — MEETS 
WITH GEORGE FOX — THEIR ARREST AND IMPRISONMENT IN 

LANCASTER CASTLE HER TRIAL — TESTIMONY AGAINST 

SWEARING — PREMUNIRED, AND REMANDED TO PRISON — 
LETTER FROM HER DAUGHTER — LETTER TO HER SON-IN-LAW 
AND WIFE — INEFFECTUAL EFFORTS TO OBTAIN HER RELEASE 

THE HARDSHIPS AND PRIVATIONS OF HER IMPRISONMENT 

EXPOSTULATORY LETTER TO THE KING — DESCRIPTION OF 

LANCASTER CASTLE — HER RELEASE. 

In the year 1663, in company with one of her 
daughters, she performed a religious journey of 
about one thousand miles, visiting Friends in Somer- 
setshire, Devonshire and Dorsetshire to Bristol, from 
thence to Yorkshire, into Northumberland and West- 
moreland. In the course of their travels they met 
with George Fox, who accompanied them home, soon 
after which he was arrested and committed to Lan- 
caster castle. 

She says : " About a month after the same justices 
sent for me to Ulverston, and when I came there 
they asked me several questions, and seemed to be 
offended at me for keeping a meeting at my house, 
and said they would tender me the oath of allegiance. 
I answered they knew I could not swear, and why 
should they send for me from my own house, where I 
was about my lawful occasions, to ensnare me ? What 



MARGARET FOX. 35 

had I done ? They said if I would not keep meet- 
ings at my house, they would not tender me the 
oath. I told them I should not deny my faith and 
principles for any thing they could do unto me ; and 
whilst it pleased the Lord to let me have a house, I 
would endeavour to worship him in it. So they 
caused the oath to be read, and tendered it unto me ; 
and I refused it, telling them, I could not take 
any oath for conscience' sake, Christ Jesus having 
forbid it. They then made a mittimus and commit- 
ted me prisoner to Lancaster Castle, and there George 
Fox and I remained in prison until the next assizes ; 
and then they indicted us upon the statute for deny- 
ing the oath of allegiance ; for they tendered it to us 
both again at the assizes ; but they said to me, if I 
would not keep a meeting at my house, I should be 
set at liberty. But I answered the judge that I 
rather chose a prison for obeying God, than my 
liberty for obeying men contrary to my conscience. 
So we were called several times before them at that 
assizes, and the indictments were found against us. 
The next assizes we came to trial, and George Fox's 
indictment was found to be dated wrong, both in the 
day of the month, and in the year of the King's 
reign, so that it was quashed ; but mine they would 
not allow the errors that were found in it to make it 
void, although there were several; so they passed 
the sentence of premunire upon me, which was, that 
I should be out of the King's protection, and forfeit 
all my estate, real and personal, to the King, and be 
imprisoned for life. But the great God of heaven 



86 LIFE OP 

and earth so supported my spirit under this severe sen- 
tence, that I was not terrified, but gave this answer 
to Judge Turner, who gave this sentence, Although 1 
am out of the King's protection, yet I am not out of 
the protection of the Almighty God: so there I re- 
mained in prison twenty months, before I could get 
so much favour of the sheriff, as to go to my own 
house; which then I did for a little time, and re- 
turned to prison again." 

Whilst before the judges, she bore this clear and 
noble testimony against swearing, and vindicated 
herself from all cause of offence : — 

" I am here this day upon the account of my con- 
science, and not for any evil, or wrong done to any 
man, but for obeying Christ's doctrine and com- 
mands, who hath said in the Scriptures : i That God 
is a spirit, and that His worship is in spirit and 
truth :' and for keeping meetings in the unity of 
this spirit. Now you profess yourselves to be Chris- 
tians, and you own the Scriptures to be true ; and 
for the obedience of the plain words of Scripture, 
and for the testimony of my conscience, am I here. 

I say this to the oath, as I have said in this 
place before now, Christ Jesus has commanded 
me not to swear at all ; and that is the only 
cause and no other; the righteous Judge of heaven 
and earth knows, before whose throne of jus- 
tice you must all appear one day; and His eye 
sees us all, and beholds us at this present time, 
and hears and sees all our words and actions : and 
therefore every one ought to be serious; for the 



MARGARET FOX. 37 

place of judgment is weighty. And this I do testify 
to you here, where the Lord's eye beholds us all, 
that for the matter or substance of the oath, and the 
end for which it was intended, I do own one part 
and deny the other. That is to say, I do own truth, 
and faithfulness, and obedience to the King, in all 
his just and lawful demands and commands. I do 
also deny all plottings and contrivings against the 
King, and all Popish supremacy, and conspiracy : 
and I can no more transgress against King Charles 
in these things, than I can disobey Christ Jesus' 
commands. And by the same power, and by virtue 
of the same word, which has commanded not to 
swear at all, the same doth bind me in my conscience, 
that I can neither plot nor contrive against the King, 
nor do him nor any man upon the earth any wrong • 
and I do not deny this oath only, because it is the 
oath of allegiance; but I deny it, because it is an 
oath, and because Christ Jesus has said, Swear not 
at all, neither hy heaven, nor hy earth, nor any other 
oath ; and if I might gain the whole world for swear- 
ing of an oath, I could not 5 and whatever I have to 
lose this day, for not swearing, I am ready to offer 
up." 

One of the justices observed : " Mrs. Fell, you 
may with a good conscience put in security to have 
no more meetings at your house, if you cannot take 
the oath." 

" Wilt thou make it good," said she, " that I may 
with a safe conscience make an engagement to for- 
bear meetings, for fear of losing my liberty and 
4 



38 LIFE OF 

estate ? Wilt not thou and all here judge me, that 
it was for saving my estate and liberty that I did it ? 
And should I not, in this, deny my testimony ; and 
would not this defile my conscience ? " 

Considerable effort was made by some of her 
friends in London to prevent the sentence of premu- 
nire being passed upon her, and some of her chil- 
dren applied to the King in her behalf; but without 
any effect. The following is a letter from one of her 
daughters on the subject : — 

"Mile End Green, near London, 1 
27th ±th mo., 1664. j 

Endeared and tender-hearted Mother: — 

My duty and very dear love is freely given and 
remembered unto thee, as also my very dear love is 
to dear George Fox. This is chiefly to let thee 
understand that yesterday sister and I went to White 
Hall ; where we spoke to the King, and told him if 
he would please to signify something to the judges, 
before they went their circuit, to release you ; other- 
wise it would be past, for the time drew very near of 
the assizes. He said he would release you, if we 
would promise you would not go to meetings. Sister 
said we could make no such engagement; for the 
meeting had been kept many years, and never had 
done any harm. He said, cannot your mother keep 
within her own family, as she may have five persons 
present, but she must have such tumultuous meet- 
ings ? We said she hath no such meetings, they are 



MARGAUET POX. 39 

only her neighbors that come. The King said there 
were some Quakers in the last plot. Sister said that 
could not be proved. He said he had letters about 
it, and their names. So Chifines* bid us come on 
the fourth day ; and we intend to go to-morrow. I 
was there about a week since, and told the King, 
that now the assizes drew very near, if he did 
not do something for thee, they would run thee into 
a premunire, and get thy estate from thee and thy 
children ; and I desired him to take it into considera- 
tion. He was then very loving to me, and said he 
would take it into consideration ; and he said, ' they 
shall not have her estate from her :' he took me by 
the hand as soon as he came near me. I also spoke 
to Prince Rupert, and desired him to put the King 
in mind of it: and he said he would do what he 
could in it ; and went then to the King and spoke to 
him. Prince Rupert hath always been very loving 
to Friends ) and hath often spoken to the King about 
you. 

Sister gives the renewed remembrance of her 
entire love to thee and dear Gr. F., as also doth my 
brother; I suppose sisters Isabel and Sarah will be 
gone : remember me to sisters Susanna and Rachel. 

I am thy dutiful and obedient daughter, 

Mary Fell." 

The following letter, written by M. Fell, when in 
prison, to her son-in-law, John Rouse, and his wife, 

* One of the pages. 



40 LIFE OF 

after she had been premunired, shows, that having 
been deeply taught in the school of Christ, and 
strengthened by Him, she had learned, like the 
Apostle Paul, that in whatsoever state she found 
herself, therewith to be content: — 

"Lancaster Castle, 1st 8th mo. (10th mo.*), 1664. 

"As I have often said to thee, give up to be 
crossed ; that is the way to please the Lord, and to 
follow Him in His own will and way, whose way is 
the best. Let nothing enter thy mind concerning 
anything about me, for I am well contented in the 
work of the Lord. I know your care and tenderness 
were not wanting to Friends ; and so be all satisfied 
in the will of the Lord God. I hope in the Lord 
that you are all together, ere this come to you. Be 
all satisfied and content with the will of the Lord ; 
and let neither murmuring nor repining enter any of 
your minds ; and let not sorrow fill your hearts, for 
we have all cause to rejoice in the Lord evermore, 
and I most of all. 

Colonel Kirby causes our bonds to be . renewed 
and straightened more and more : and they lock up 
G. F. under pretence of an order that should come 
from London. Get this enclosed letter of G. F/s 
sent to Gilbert Latey, that G. Whitehead and they 
may draw out what they see convenient. . 

Margaret Fell." 

Some attempts were afterwards made to obtain her 
release, or at least some mitigation of the rigours of 



MARGARET FOX. 41 

her imprisonment, but with no better success. Gril- 
berty Latey, in, one of his letters, giving an account 
of an interview he had with Lord D'Aubigny on her 
behalf, says : " That neither the King nor chancellor 
would do anything at all for us. Neither could any 
man be heard to speak for us. Then I told him of 
the unjustness of thy imprisonment, and of the bad- 
ness of the jury, and its being contrary to law, and 
that thou desired nothing but a fair prison, and that 
the thieves and murderers had more liberty than 
thee, and that thou wast locked up in a bad room, 
and Friends not suffered to come to speak to thee ; 
and I told him I had a paper of it, and desired that 
he would hand it. He told me he was sorry with all 
his heart, but he would tell me no lie ; he was sure 
nothing could be done, and he believed they did it 
on purpose to vex us ; and so I parted with him ; for 
he said he could do nothing, for all the clergy were 
against us, and nothing could be done at all, neither 
did he care to meddle with the paper at all ; so I 
was fain to leave him." 

Gough, the historian, remarks : " Such rigorous 
imprisonment as these people, particularly George 
Fox and Margaret Fell, were subject to, being in 
smoky rooms, in such bad condition that the rain 
came in upon them in abundance, was more than suf- 
ficient punishment for petty criminals, and an evi- 
dence of the unfeeling malice of their persecutors 
needlessly to expose Margaret Fell in particular to 
such hardships, a woman of estate, the widow of a 
judge, and a man of consequence in the country, who 
4* 



42 LIFE OF 

had been used to comfortable accommodations in her 
own house, and was every way on a level with her 
persecutors, except the possession of power. But all 
the hardships she suffered, in being arbitrarily forced 
from her home and family, without cause or crimina- 
tion, and hurried to this dismal jail, was not a suffi- 
cient gratification of the groundless enmity of these 
magistrates, until they went the furthest lengths 
they could go, by prosecuting her to a premunire, 
realizing the proverb, summum jus, summa injuria : 
the execution of perverted law is accumulated injury" 
She earnestly expostulated with the King, on the 
injustice of the law authorizing the banishment of 
Friends, reminding him of her former interview with 
him, and the rigours of her own imprisonment, in a 
letter addressed to him u from my prison at Lancas- 
ter Castle, the 6th day of the 6th month, 1666," 
some, extracts from which are here inserted : 

" King Charles : — 

I desire thee to read this over, which may be for 
thy satisfaction and profit. 

In the fear of the Lord God stand still, and con- 
sider what thou and you have been doing these six 
years, since the Lord brought you peaceably into 
this realm, and made you rulers over this people. 
The righteous eye of the Almighty hath been over 
you, and hath seen all your doings and actions. 

What laws have you made or changed, save such 
as have laid oppression and bondage on the con- 
sciences of Grod's people, and that of no less penalty 



MARGARET FOX. 43 

than banishment out of their native country f The 
greatest crime that you could find with the people of 
God was, that they obeyed and worshipped Christ 
Jesus : so that the greatest stroke that hath appeared 
of your justice hath been upon such as you counted 
offenders for worshipping of God, insomuch that 
several of your judges of the land have several times 
said, in open court, to any that did confess they met 
to worship the Lord God, that that was crime enough, 
whereby they could proceed to banishment. And 
when it was asked in open court, whether it was now 
become a transgression or a crime in England to wor- 
ship God ? He that was then Chief Justice of Eng- 
land answered : i Yes, yes/ Oh ! wonderful, let this 
be chronicled in England for after ages, that all 
magistrates may dread and fear so to affront the 
Almighty; except they dare say they are stronger 
than he. 

And all this hath been without any just cause 
given at any time by that people, which was the ob- 
ject of this law; so that men, that had but the least 
measure of righteousness and equity, could never 
have proceeded on to have inflicted such a height of 
punishment, without some just ground. 

And all that was ever pretended, was but suspi- 
cion, which can never be paralleled ; to be prose-- 
cuted to such a height of suffering without a just 
ground given, although occasion hath been con- 
tinually sought and watched for, but never found ; 
but the Lord has preserved His people innocent and 
harmless; and therefore is He engaged to plead 



44 LIFE OF 

their cause, into whose hand it is wholly given and 
committed. 

I desire you also to consider seriously, in the fear 
of the Lord, what effects and fruits these things have 
brought forth. 

I believe it hath brought hundreds of God's 
people to their graves; it hath also rendered this 
realm, and the governors of it, cruel, in the eyes of 
all people, both within its own body, and in other 
nations ; besides the guilt of innocent blood lies upon 
this kingdom. 

Since which time, the Lord in His judgment hath 
taken many thousands of its people away by His two 
judgments, pestilence and sword. 

And before any of this was, when you first entered 
into this kingdom, I was sent of the Lord to you, to 
inform you truly of the state and condition of our 
people; and when I came before thee, King, I 
told thee I was come to thee on behalf of an inno- 
cent, harmless, peaceable people; which words I 
would then, and ever since, and should at this day 
seal with my blood, if I were put to it. And thy 
answer was to me, if they he peaceable they shall he 
protected. 

I also wrote to thee several times concerning our 
faith and principles, how that we could not swear for 
conscience' sake; neither could we take up arms, 
nor plot, nor contrive to do any man wrong nor 
injury, much less the King. I also told you, that 
we must worship God, for God required it of us. 

We did likewise give you many of our books, 



MARGARET FOX. 45 

which contained our faith, and principles and doc- 
trine, that thereby we might be tried by the Scrip- 
tures of Truth (which all of you do profess), whether 
our principles were erroneous or no ; and to that pur- 
pose we gave our books to the King and Parliament, 
and to the bishops and ministers, both ecclesiastical 
and civil. All this, with much more, I wrote to 
thee, and warned thee of (I can truly say in the fear 
of the Lord), in much love and tenderness to thee. 
And now I may say unto thee, for which of these 
things hast thou kept me in prison three long win- 
ters, in a place not fit for people to lie in ; sometimes 
for wind, and storm, and rain, and sometimes for 
smoke ; so that it is much that I am alive, but that 
the power and goodness of Grod hath been with me. 
I was kept a year and seven months in this prison, 
before I was suffered to see the house that was mine, 
or children or family, except they came to me over 
two dangerous sands in the cold winter, when they 
came with much danger of their lives \ but since the 
last assizes I have had a little more respect from this 
sheriff, than formerly from others. And in all this I 
am very well satisfied; and praise the Lord, who 
counts me worthy to suffer for His sake. 

And now after all my sufferings, in the same love 
that I visited thee in the beginning, I desire thee 
once more to fear the Lord God, by whom Kings 
rule, and Princes decree justice ; ivho sets up one, and 
puMs down another , at His pleasure. 

And let not the guilt of the burthen of the breach 
of that word that passed from thee at Breda, lie upon 



46 LIFE OF 

thy conscience, but as thou promised when thou wast 
in distress, and also renewed it many times since, 
that thou wouldst give liberty to tender consciences ; 
in the fear of the Lord perform it, and purge thy 
conscience of it ; and hearken not to wicked counsel- 
lors, that have stopped it in thee all this time ; for 
they will bear none of thy burden for thee, when the 
Lord pleads for breach of covenant with Him and 
His people ; I know it hath been often in thy heart 
to perform it, and thou hast seen what fruit the want 
of it hath brought forth. So if thou lovest thy eter- 
nal peace and comfort with the Lord, try what the 
performance of it will bring forth, thou wilt thereby 
see thou hast hearkened to wrong counsellors. And 
every mortal man hath but a moment in this life, 
either to serve, fear and honour the Lord, and therein 
to receive mercy from Him; or else to transgress, 
sin, disobey, and dishonour Him, and receive the 
judgment of eternal misery. 

So none of you know how long, or how short your 
day may be ; therefore fear not man, that can kill 
the body; but fear the Lord, who, when he hath 
killed the body, can cast the soul and body into hell; 
yea, I say unto you fear Him. 

From a true lover of all your souls (though a suf- 
ferer by you), and the desire of my heart is, that you 
may take these things into consideration betime, be- 
fore it be too late, and set open the prison doors, and 
let the innocent go free, and that will take part of 
the burden and guilt off you, lest the door of mercy 
be shut against you." 



MARGARET FOX. 47 

Lancaster Castle, the prison of Margaret Fell, in 
its present forni, was founded by John of Gaunt, 
Duke of Lancaster, in the 14th century. This castle 
and its predecessor have been noted strongholds, fa- 
mous in British history from the time of the Romans 
to the days of Cromwell and the Pretender. A recent 
writer thus describes the castle, and the room occu- 
pied by George Fox : " He who penetrates within the 
enclosure of the castle will wonder at the kind of life 
which kings and princes must have led in the days 
of its erection. Here are the same rooms of John of 
Gaunt, visited sometimes by his father, Edward the 
Third — small, stately, strong apartments, having few 
windows in the exterior, and these narrowed to the 
smallest possible dimensions — well fitted to serve as 
the prisons they have since become. Fox's room was 
in the donjon, and the window of what was his resi- 
dence during many long, dreary months is conspicu- 
ous over the greater part of the ancient town. It was 
evidently, at one period, a room of considerable size, 
but in Fox's day it was old and ruinous. He could 
scarcely walk across his apartment, because of the 
dilapidated state of the floor. The smoke that came 
from the other prisons was so dense, that sometimes 
a burning candle was scarcely visible, and he was in 
imminent danger of being choked ; and the turnkey 
was with difficulty persuaded to unlock one of the 
upper doors, in order to let out the smoke. In wet 
weather it rained upon his bed. The inconveniences 
of his prison affected Fox to such a degree, during a 
cold and prolonged winter, that his body became 



48 life or 

swollen, and his limbs benumbed. When he was 
brought up at the March assizes, 1665, he was so 
weak that he could scarcely stand or move." 

"Nor were Fox's friends in this neighbourhood 
allowed to escape. Many of his followers, and amongst 
them Margaret Fell, at whose house he had been ap- 
prehended, were also confined in the castle, where an 
apartment exists, still called the Quaker's room, be- 
cause it was the scene of the sufferings of many of 
these oppressed and unresisting Christians." * 

Having endured an imprisonment of about four 
years, M. Fell was at length set at liberty by an order 
of the King and council, in the year 1668. 

* At one time there were 4500 Friends in prison in Eng- 
land and Wales. In 1662, 20 died in different prisons in 
London, and 7 more after their liberation, from ill treat- 
ment. In 1664, 25 died; and in 1665, 52 more. The num- 
ber that perished in this way throughout the whole kingdom 
amounted to 369. For a full account of the cruelties prac- 
tised against the early Friends, the reader is referred to two 
folio volumes entitled "Besse's Sufferings" 



MAKGARET FOX. 19 



CHAPTER IV. 1668-1690. 

VISITS IMPRISONED FRIENDS — HER MARRIAGE WITH GEORGE 

POX AT BRISTOL AGAIN IMPRISONED ON THE OLD PREMU- 

NIRE HER HUSBAND AND TWO OF HER CHILDREN OBTAIN 

AN ORDER FOR HER DISCHARGE WHICH IS DISREGARDED 

SHE OBTAINS A FREE DISCHARGE UNDER THE GREAT SEAL, 

RELEASING HER AND HER ESTATE FROM THE PREMUNIRE 

VISITS LONDON TO TAKE LEAVE OF HER HUSBAND, WHO GOES 
TO AMERICA HIS RETURN, AND IMPRISONMENT IN WOR- 
CESTER JAIL — HE IS PREMUNIRED HER EFFORTS IN HIS 

BEHALF HIS RELEASE, AND RETURN TO SWARTHMORE 

LETTER TO THOMAS LOWER RETURNS TO LONDON — VISITS 

THE KING HIS DEATH INTERVIEW WITH KING JAMES 

FRESH IMPRISONMENT — EPISTLE TO WOMEN FRIENDS OF 
LONDON. 

Shortly after her release, "she was moved of 
the Lord" to make an extended journey through 
many of the counties of England, visiting most of 
the Friends that were imprisoned in the nation, and 
spending a number of weeks in London and Bristol. 

It was on her return from this visit that she again 
met with George Fox, and remarks : 

" It was eleven years after my former husband's 
decease ; and Gr. Fox being then returned from visit- 
ing Friends in Ireland ; at Bristol he declared his 
intentions of marriage with me ; and there was also 
our marriage solemnized, in a public meeting of 
many Friends, who were our witnesses." 
5 



50 LIFE OF 

George Fox, in his journal, gives the following re- 
lation of his marriage. Before proceeding therein he 
was careful that the rights of her children should 
not suffer, and had their free consent, for, said he, 
" I would have all things done plainly, for I sought 
not any advantage to myself." * 

"I had seen from the Lord a considerable time 
before, that I should take Margaret Fell to be my 
wife ; and when I first mentioned it to her, she felt 
the answer of life from God thereunto. But though 
the Lord had opened this thing to me, yet I had not 
received a command from Him for the accomplishing 
of it then. Wherefore I let the thing rest, and went 
on in the work and service of the Lord, according as 
he led me; travelling in this nation and Ireland. 
But now being at Bristol, and finding Margaret Fell 
there, it opened in me from the Lord that the thing 
should be accomplished. And so our intention of 
marriage was laid before Friends, both privately and 

* In confirmation of this, and showing the justice and 
conscientiousness that characterized George Fox, in regard 
to property, and of his opinions being in advance of those 
then prevailing on the subject, the following circumstance, 
related in his journal, will serve to illustrate. Being pro- 
secuted for tithes against his wife's estate at Swarth- 
more, he and William Mead, her son-in-law, appeared be- 
fore the court, "when," he says, " William Mead told the 
judges that I had engaged never to meddle with my wife's 
estate. The judges would hardly believe that any man 
would do so ; whereupon he showed them the writing under 
my hand and seal; at which they wondered." — Fox's Jour- 
nal, vol. ii. p. 302. 



MARGARET FOX. 51 

publicly, to their full satisfaction, many of whom 
gave testimony that it was of God. Afterwards a 
meeting being appointed on purpose for the accom- 
plishing thereof, in the public meeting-house at 
Broad Mead, in Bristol, we took each other in mar- 
riage ) and the Lord joined us together in honour- 
able marriage, in the everlasting covenant and im T 
mortal Seed of life."* 

* The following is a copy of her marriage certificate : — 
" These are to signify unto all whom this may concern 
that on the eighteenth day of the eighth month in the year 
one thousand, six hundred sixty nine, George Fox and Mar- 
garett ffell propounded their intentions of joininge together 
in the honourable marriage, in the covenant of God in Mens 
meetinge, at Broadmead, within the Citty of Bristoll (hav- 
ing before made mention of such their intentions to several 
ffriends,) on the behalf of which there were several testimo- 
nies given, both by the children and relations of the said 
Margarett, then present, and several others, in the power 
of the Lord, both of men and women, declaring their satis- 
faction, and approbation of their declared intention of mar- 
riage. And likewise at another meetinge both of men and 
women, at the place aforesaide, on the twenty first day of the 
month and year aforesaide, the said George Fox and Mar- 
garett ffell did againe publish their intention of joininge to- 
gether in the honourable marriage in the covenant of God, 
unto which, there were againe many livinge testimonies 
borne by the relations and ffriends then present, both of 
Men and Women. And the same intentions of Marriage 
beinge againe published by Dennis Hollister at our public 
meetinge-place aforesaide, on the two and twentyeth day of 
the month and year aforesaide, and then againe, a public 
testimony was given to the same, that it was of God who 
had brought it to passe. 



52 LIFE OF 

Her narrative proceeds : " Soon after I came home, 
there came another order to cast me into prison 
again ; and the sheriff of Lancashire sent his bailiff, 
and pulled me out of my own house, and had me to 
prison at Lancaster Castle, where I continued a whole 
year ; and most of that time I was sick and weakly. 
And after some time my husband endeavoured to get 

And for the full accomplishment of the aforesaide propo- 
sal, and approved intention, at a publicke meetinge both of 
men and women ffriends, appointed on purpose for the same 
thinge, at the place aforesaide, and on the twenty seventh 
day of the month and year aforesaide, according to the law 
and ordinance of God, and the example and good order of 
His people, mentioned in the Scriptures of Truth, who tooke 
each other before witnesses, and the Elders of the people, 
as Laban appointed a meetinge, at the marriage of Jacob, 
and as a meetinge was appointed on purpose, when Boaz 
and Ruth tooke each other, and also as it was in Canaan, 
where Christ and his disciples went to a marriage. The 
saide George Fox did solemnly, in the presence of God, and 
us his people, declare that he tooke the saide Margarett 
ffell in the everlasting power and covenent of God which is 
from everlasting to everlasting, and in the honourable mar- 
riage, to be his bride, and his wife. And likewise the saide 
Margarett did solemnly declare that, in the everlastinge 
power of the mighty God, and in the unalterable word, and 
in the presence of God, His Angells and his holy assembly, 
she tooke the saide George Fox to be her husband, unto 
which marriage, many livinge testimonies were borne in the 
sence of the power and presence of the livinge God, mani- 
fested in the said assembly ; of which, we, whose names are 
here subscribed are witnesses. 

Signed by 92 men and women Friends." — Friends' Re- 
view, vol. i. p. 270. 



MARGARET FOX. 53 

me out of prison ; and a discharge at last was got, 
under the great seal, and I was set at -liberty." 

This imprisonment was upon the old premunire, 
from which she had been discharged the year before. 
As soon as George Fox reached London after hear- 
ing of her fresh incarceration, he sent Mary Lower 
and Sarah Fell (her children) to the King, to strive 
to obtain an order for her discharge, which with 
some difficulty was procured. They carried it to Lan- 
caster, together with the following letter from G. 
Fox:— : 

" My dear heart in the truth and life, that 
changeth not: — 

It was upon me that Mary Lower and Sarah 
should go to the King concerning thy imprison- 
ment; and to Kirby, that the power of the Lord 
might appear over them all in thy deliverance. They 
went ; and then they thought to have come down ; 
but it was upon me to stay them a little longer, that 
they might follow the business till it was effected, 
which it now is and is here sent. The late declara- 
tion of mine has been very serviceable, people being 
generally satisfied with it. 

So no more but my love in the Holy Seed, 

George Fox." 

This second intimation of the King's will and 
pleasure respecting her, was presented to the sheriff 
by her two daughters; but her old enemies found 
5* 



54 LIFE OF 

means, by some informality in the document, to 
evade even this command. 

Her husband therefore renewed his solicitations 
for her release; which was at length effected by 
means of Martha Fisher and another female Friend, 
who obtained a second interview with the King, and 
informed him of all their difficulties. The King then 
granted a free discharge under the great seal, and 
released both her, and her estate from the penalties 
of the sentence of premunire, under which she had 
been suffering for more than five years. 

The condescending interference of King Charles, 
in behalf of Margaret Fox shows, that he was averse 
to these violent measures against his peaceable non- 
conforming subjects, and that he would probably have 
adhered to his proclamation from Breda, promising 
religious toleration, had he not been driven by his 
necessities, and extravagance, to concede these arbi- 
trary measures to the high church party, for the 
sake of obtaining supplies. 

She went up to London soon after, to take leave 
of her husband, then about embarking for America. 
He was absent two years ; she again met him, on his 
return, at Bristol, whence they proceeded to Lon- 
don, and staid there some time, when they took 
leave of their friends, and proceeded homewards, in 
company with her daughter Rachel, stopping at 
Bickmansworth, on a visit to William Penn and his 
family, where they were joined by her son-in-law, 
Thomas Lower. Upon leaving Bickmansworth, they 
continued their journey through Oxfordshire, visiting 



MARGARET FOX. 55 

Friends' meetings as they proceeded, and at Treding- 
ton, in Worcestshire, they attended a meeting of 
about two hundred persons, held in a barn; the meet- 
ing having quietly dispersed, and they haying retired 
into the house of John Halford, George Fox and 
Thomas Lower were arrested and committed to Wor- 
cester jail : Gr. Fox being afterwards premunired by 
the court there, and continued in confinement, she 
went to him, and had a conference with the judges, 
and also with the King, endeavouring to obtain his 
release. The case was subsequently removed by 
habeas corpus to the King's bench bar, where Judge 
Hale pronounced the indictment illegal and void, and 
he was discharged. They returned together to 
Swarthmore, he being much weakened in body, his 
health having suffered severely in consequence of his 
long imprisonment. He continued at home about 
one and twenty months, before he was sufficiently re- 
covered to resume his travels, being the longest pe- 
riod he remained with his wife since their mar- 
riage. 

Persecution and distraints still continued, whereby 
Friends were much distressed and impoverished. 
She says, in speaking of the difficulties they encoun- 
tered in these respects : — 

"When my husband was at London, it being a 
time of great persecution by informers, the justices 
of our country were very severe, and much bent 
against me, because I kept a meeting at Swarthmore 
Hall ; so they did not fine the house as his, he being 
absent, but as mine; and fined me £20 for the 



56 LIFE OF 

house, and £20 for speaking in the meeting; and 
the second time £40 for speaking; and also other 
Friends for speaking, £20 for the first, and £40 for 
the second time : those that were not able, they fined 
others for them, and made great spoil among Friends, 
by distraining their goods, sometimes for less than 
half the value ; they took thirty head of cattle from 
me. Their intentions were to ruin and weary us 
out, and enrich themselves ; but the Lord prevented 
them." 

Her son-in-law, Thomas Lower, being premunired 
and imprisoned, she wrote him the subjoined com- 
forting letter. He was u a physician of London," 
says Besse, " and visiting George Fox when he was 
imprisoned in Cornwall, asked him many questions 
concerning religion, and received such clear answers 
from Gr. Fox, that he said i his words were as a flash 
of lightning, they ran so through him/ adding, i he 
had never met with a man of such wisdom and pene- 
tration in his life/ By these means he became fully 
convinced of the doctrine of truth, which he after- 
wards made a public profession of." He subse- 
quently married Mary Fell. 

" To Thomas Lower and his fellow-sufferers for the 
testimony of Jesus, when they were premunired, 
and prisoners in Lauceston Jail : — 

Dear Son Lower : — 

In the dear and precious blessed unity of the 

eternal Spirit, and fellowship of the gospel of peace, 

in this is my heart and souPs love remembered unto 



MARGARET FOX. 57 

thee, and to all thy dear brethren and fellow-prisoners 
with thee, that suffer for the testimony of Jesus \ my 
soul's desire is to the powerful God for you all, that 
you may be more than conquerors in Christ Jesus, 
who is the great King, and Lord over all, and hath 
all power in heaven and earth in His hands, and all 
the inhabitants of the earth are but as grasshoppers 
before Him; and therefore with hearts and courage 
may His servants and children suffer for Him, with- 
out fear or fainting, under those that have but power 
over the outward man. The Lord preserve you in 
the dominion over them all ; and I am glad to hear 
in every letter that comes from thee, that ye are well 
satisfied and content. And I know certainly, the 
Lord will never be wanting to you, as ye keep faith- 
ful and true, and single-hearted to Him; His eye 
beholds and sees all that His and your enemies can 
do unto you, and a just and righteous reward from 
Him they will surely receive. 

And my dear love is unto thee, in that which 
never changes, which gives peace, and content, and 
faith to look over that which changes. 

Thy dear mother in the Lord, 

M. Fox. 

Swarthmore, 28th of 7th mo., 1683/' 

u I was moved of the Lord to go to London, in the 
seventieth year of my age ; and the word was in me, 
that as I had gone to King Charles, when he first 
came into England, so I should go, and bear to him 
my last testimony, and let him know how they did 



58 LIFE OF 

abuse us, to enrich themselves : a paper was drawn 
up, to give a true and certain account how they dealt 
with me, and other Friends. It was upon my mind, 
to go first unto the Duke of York ; and I wrote a 
short paper to him, to acquaint him, that as he had 
sometimes formerly spoke in my behalf to the King, 
my request was, that he would now do the like for 
me, or words to that effect. I went with this paper 
to James' house; and after long waiting, I got to 
speak to him. But some let him know, that it was I 
that had been with him and his brother, soon after 
they came into England. I gave him my little paper, 
and asked him if he did not remember me? He 
said, I do remember you. Then I desired him to 
speak to the King for us, for we were under great 
sufferings, and our persecutors were so severe, that 
it looked as if they intended to make a prey upon 
us ; he said he could not help, but he would speak 
to the King. The next day, with much ado, I got 
to the King, and had my great paper, which was the 
relation of our sufferings, to present to him ; but he 
was so rough and angry, that he would not take it; 
but I gave several copies to his nobles. Afterwards 
I went to Judge Jeffreys, and told him of our suffer- 
ings ; for he had been in the North country with us, 
a little before, and he told me we might speak to the 
King. I answered it was very hard to get to the 
King ; he said, i give me a paper, and I will speak 
to him;' but said, 'your papers are too long, give 
me a short one, and I will speak to him : 9 so I wrote 
a little paper from myself, to this effect : — 



MARGARET FOX. 59 

King Charles: — Thou and thy magistrates put 
very great and cruel sufferings upon us ; but this I 
must say unto thee, if you make our sufferings to 
death itself, we shall not, nor dare not, but confess 
Christ Jesus before men, lest He should deny us be- 
fore His Father which is in heaven." 

" There were some more words, but this was the 
substance : Jeffreys read it, and said he would give it 
him ; we gave papers to several of those that waited 
on him, and they gave us some encouragement, that 
we should be helped ; so we expected and waited for 
it. About a week or two after, in the beginning of 
the 12th month, George Whitehead and I were going 
to one of the lords, who had promised George that 
he would speak to the King for us : we went to his 
lodgings early in the morning, thinking to speak 
with him before he went out; but his servants told 
us he was not within, being gone to the King, who 
was not well. Then we came forth into Whitehall 
court ; but all the gates were shut, that we could not 
get forth. So we waited, and walked up and down ; 
and several came from the King, and said, he could not 
stand ; others said, he could not speak. Then, after 
some hours waiting, we got through Scotland-yard, 
and came away; the King continued sick until the 
sixth day after, and then he died. So this confirmed 
that word which God put into my heart, that I was 
sent to hear my last testimony to the King" 

"Then James, Duke of York, was proclaimed 



60 LIFE OF 

King, and about two weeks after, I went to him, and 
gave hirn a paper to this effect : — 

King James — I have waited here some months, 
until this change is come, and now I would return 
home; but I cannot live 'peaceably there, except I have 
a word from thee, to give a check to my persecutors. 

I spoke to him to the same purpose. He said 
unto me, go home, go home. So after a few weeks I 
went home. 

And a little while after, William Kirby, a justice, 
one of our greatest persecutors, met with my son-in- 
law, Daniel Abraham, upon the road, and said to 
him, tell your mother that now the government will 
be settled again, and if you keep meetings, you must 
expect the same again. My son answered him, we 
must keep meetings, unless you take our lives. Then 
William Kirby said, we will not take your lives, but 
whilst you have anything, we will take it. So I 
wrote a letter to King James, in which I said, Thou 
bids' t me come home, and so I am ; but as I said to 
thee, I could not live peaceably, so it is like to be ; 
and then I hinted in my letter W. Kirby's discourse 
with my son. And I desired of the King, to let me 
have something from him, that I might live peace- 
ably at my house. 

This letter was delivered to him, and as I heard, 
he carried it to the council, and it was read ; and 
some of the council said, she desires a protection, 
that she may live peaceably at her own house ; and 






MARGARET FOX. 61 

that some made answer, they could give no protec- 
tion to an individual : however, I do suppose they 
gave our persecutors a private caution, for they 
troubled us no more ; but, if that had not been, it is 
likely they had a mind to begin anew upon us ; for 
a little before the time of the informers, they brought 
that law upon us, concerning twelve pence a Sunday, 
so called ; and they carried me, and my son and 
daughter Abraham, to Lancaster prison, and kept us 
there about three weeks. And when they considered, 
that they could not fine me, nor my house, when I 
was in prison, then they let us go home, and soon 
after they did fine us both for the house, and for 
speaking as before hinted. 

And thus have they troubled and persecuted us 
divers ways ; but the Lord God Almighty hath pre- 
served me, and us, until this day; glorious praises 
be given to him forevermore. 

And the Lord hath given me such strength and 
ability, that I have been at London, to see my dear 
husband and children and relatives and friends there 
in 1690, being the seventy-sixth year of my age; and 
I was very well satisfied, refreshed and comforted in 
my journey, and found Friends in much love, praises 
be returned to the unchangeable God forever. This 
being nine times that I have been to London, upon 
the Lord's and His truth's account/' 

The company of her two daughters, the wives of 

John Rouse and William Mead, the former residing 

at Kingston on Thames, and the latter at Goose's in 

Essex, while on her visits to London, was doubtless 

6 



62 L I F E F 

very comforting to her, and a great satisfaction to 
them. These were also favorite resorts of Gr. Fox 
when in that neighbourhood. 

After returning to her home, she wrote the follow- 
ing epistle to the Women's Meeting in London : — 

" Dear Sisters : — 

In the eternal blessed truth, into which we are be- 
gotten, and in which we stand, and are preserved, 
as we keep in it, and are guided by it : in this is my 
dear and unchangeable love remembered unto you 
all ; acknowledging your dear and tender love, when 
I was with you, in which my heart was rejoiced, to 
feel the ancient love and unity of the eternal spirit 
amongst you ; and my soul was and is refreshed in 
my journey, in visiting my dear husband and chil- 
dren, and you my dear Friends. And now I am re- 
turned to my own house and family, where I find all 
well ; praised and honoured be my Heavenly Father. 

And dear Friends our engagements are great unto 
the Lord, and he is dear and faithful unto us ; and 
blessed and happy are all they that are dear and 
faithful unto Him. And those that keep single and 
chaste unto Him need not fear evil tidings, nor 
what man can do, for He that hath all power in 
heaven and earth in His hand, will surely keep 
His own church and family, those that worship 
Him, within the measuring line, that measures 
the temple, and the altar, and those that worship 
therein, they are kept safe, as in the hollow of His 
hand. 



MARGARET FOX. 63 

And so, dear Friends, my heart and soul was so 
much comforted and refreshed, amongst you, that 
I could not but signify the remembrance of my dear 
love unto you; and also my acknowledgment of 
your dear love and tenderness to my dear husband ; 
for which I doubt not, but the Lord doth and will 
reward you; into whose hand and arm and power 
I commit you. 

M. Fox. 

Swarthmore, 10th of oth month, 1690." 



LIFE OF 



CHAPTER V. 1690-1702. 

DEATH OF GEORGE FOX — AGAIN GOES TO LONDON — ADDRESS 
TO KING WILLIAM — HER DEATH, AND DYING SAYINGS — 
TESTIMONY OF HER CHILDREN, AND OTHER FRIENDS, TO 
HER CHARACTER — BURIED AT SWARTHMORE. 

In the latter part of the year 1690, her husband, 
who had been in a declining state of health for 
several years previous, died at the house of Henry 
G-ouldney, in London, after a few days' sickness, in 
much contentment and peace. " It fell to the lot of 
William Penn," says Clarkson, "to communicate 
this event to his wife." " I am to be," says he, 
"the teller to thee of sorrowful tidings, in some 
respects, which is this, that thy dear husband, and 
my beloved and dear friend, finished his glorious 
testimony this night about half an hour after nine, 
being sensible to the last breath. Oh ! he is gone, 
and left us in the storm that is over our heads, 
surely in great mercy to him, but as an evidence to 
us of sorrow to come : a prince, indeed, is fallen in 
Israel to-day ; he died as he lived, a lamb, minding 
the things of God and His church to the last, in an 
universal spirit." 

They had been married about twenty-one years, and 
during that period he had passed but a small part of 
the time with her, his various religious engagements 
keeping him almost constantly away from Swarthmore. 



MARGARET FOX. 65 

This circumstance probably gave rise to some censorious 
remarks, -for his wife, in speaking of it, says: "And 
though the Lord had provided him with an out- 
ward habitation, he was not willing to stay in it, be- 
cause it was so remote and far from London, where 
his service mostly lay. And my concern for God 
and His holy and eternal truth was then in the 
north, where God had placed and set me; and like- 
wise for the ordering and governing of my children 
and family ; so that we were willing both of us to live 
apart some years upon God's account and His truth's 
service, and to deny ourselves of that comfort which 
we might have had in being together, for the sake and 
service of the Lord and His truth. And if any took 
occasion, or judged hard of us, because of that, the 
Lord will judge them; for we were innocent. And for 
my own part I was willing to make many long journeys 
for taking away all occasion of evil thoughts ; and 
although I lived two hundred miles from London, 
yet have I been nine times there, upon the Lord's 
and His truth's account; and of all the times I 
was in London, this last time was most comfort- 
able, the Lord was pleased to give me strength and 
ability to travel that great journey, being seventy- 
six years of age, to see my dear husband, who was 
better in health and strength than many times I had 
seen him before. I look upon it, that the Lord's 
special hand was in it, that I should go then ; for he 
lived but about half a year after I left him ; which 
makes me admire the wisdom and goodness of God 
in ordering my journey at that time." 
6* 



66 LIFE OP 

In connection with this subject, it should be re- 
membered that George Fox, during his married life, 
was almost incessantly engaged in zealously propo- 
gating his views of Christian faith, and in establish- 
ing the religious society that grew out of them. As 
a Gospel minister he visited North America and the 
West India Islands ; was twice in Holland, and other 
parts of the continent of Europe, beside long and 
laborious journeys in his native land, enduring also 
an imprisonment of fourteen months in Worcester 
jail. 

Whilst his great mission remained unaccomplished, 
he contentedly relinquished the ease of a comfortable 
home, and the society of an interesting family. His 
industry and zeal were remarkable, love to God and 
love to man, and the interests of the beloved people, 
whom the Lord had enabled him to call from the 
barren and desolate mountains of an empty profes- 
sion, to come and sit under their own vine and fig- 
tree, where none could make them afraid, were the 
powerful incentives that governed his conduct; and 
in the performance of his duty to his Divine Master, 
he was made willing to forsake not only houses and 
lands, but wife also, for His sake and the gospel. 

At the expense of much time and patience, he fre- 
quently appeared before the Kings, Parliaments and 
Judges, in order to lay before them appeals for jus- 
tice, mercy and moderation. He was also engaged 
with others in forming those excellent rules of disci- 
pline intended for the government of the society, in 
defending its doctrines from the arguments and 



MARGARET FOX. 67 

cavils of opponents and apostates, and in writing and 
publishing books for these and other purposes. 

London being the metropolis of the kingdom, the 
yearly meeting convening there, and many of the 
leading and influential Friends residing in that city, 
George Fox was necessarily much there in attending 
to the secular interests of the society. 

The facilities for travelling of the present day 
strikingly contrast with the times we are now con- 
sidering, scarcely any public conveyances being then 
in use. Stage-coaches were but just coming into 
existence in the reign of Charles the Second, and 
were slow, inconvenient and clumsy vehicles, with 
difficulty going the distance between Oxford and 
London in daylight, which is now performed in a 
little more than an hour. Travelling on horseback 
was commonly and almost universally practised; pri- 
vate carriages were used chiefly by the wealthier 
classes; and wagons carrying merchandise to dif- 
ferent parts of the country also accommodated a few 
of the poorer sort of people. The state of the roads, 
also, at this period, formed a serious obstacle to the 
comfort of travelling, many of them being so much 
out of repair as to be almost impassable, and often- 
times infested with highwaymen; so that a journey 
of two hundred miles, beset with these difficulties, 
may form a very important reason why he was so 
much absent from home at this time. 

It appears M. Fox again visited London, under 
religious concern, in the year 1698. At that time 
she addressed the following letter to King William^ 



GS lite or 

which was delivered to him by her daughter, Susan 
Ingram : — 

"To King William: — 

It hath pleased Almighty God to bring me unto 
this place, two hundred miles from my dwelling, in 
my old age (being entered into the eighty-fifth year 
of my age), to bear my testimony for that eternal 
truth, which I and many more are made partakers 
of, praised be the Lord ; and I am not free and clear 
to return to my habitation, until I have cleared my- 
self unto this government. I was exercised in this 
manner the first year King Charles the Second 
came to the crown, and laboured amongst them a 
whole year, to acquaint them, and give them to 
understand our principles, in giving letters and 
papers unto them for that end. And great opposi- 
tion we had, both from church and state, yet it 
pleased God to cause them to give us some liberty 
to worship Him, though sometimes under great suf- 
ferings. 

And now I am to acquaint King William, that 
we have been a people about forty-six years, and 
have lived under several reigns, and we have suf- 
fered very much, as it is well-known to the nation 
of England, even to the death of several hundreds 
by imprisonment and other hardships, and yet we 
were never found in transgression of any just or 
righteous law, but only upon account of our con- 
sciences towards God ; that was the cause of our suf- 
fering, and not for evil or wrong done to any man or 



MARGARET FOX. 69 

government; for our principle which we testify of is 
the Light of Jesus Christ, and His eternal spirit, 
which leads into all truth and righteousness, but not 
into any untruth or evil actions. And if any bear- 
ing the same name amongst us have transgressed 
against the precious truth and royal law of liberty, 
we do with the same spirit judge and condemn 
them wherever they are found. And we do deny 
all plottings and contrivings against the government, 
and all false and underhand dealing; and we live in 
that principle which is righteous, just and true ; 
for God is a God of truth, and blessed are all they 
that fear Him, and walk in His truth. And now 
God has placed thee over us, in this government, 
who hast been very moderate and merciful to us, 
and we live very comfortably under thee and it, and 
do enjoy our meetings quietly, which formerly we 
were much disturbed in, which was a great suffering 
upon us ; and God has blessed thy government, and 
prospered thy undertakings; for which the King 
and we have cause to bless His holy name, who is a 
God of peace, and His Son is Prince of peace, who 
now has given us peace and tranquillity, for which 
we praise His holy name; and thy gentle govern- 
ment and clemency, and gracious acts, God hath and 
will reward thee for. And as we abide in that just 
and righteous principle of the eternal God,, by which 
we ought all to be guided, I hope the government 
shall never hear worse of us; but that we shall 
rather be a blessing than grievance to it and the 
nation; for so it will be as we continue in the blessed 



70 LIFE OF 

truth; in which I pray God for thy preservation, 
who am His servant, and thy faithful subject. 

Margaret Fox. 
London, 24tth of 4th month, 1698 " 

She died at Swarthmore, the 23d of the 2d 
month, 1702, in the eighty-eighth year of her age, 
having survived her husband about eleven years. 

Her children say : " The blessed God of heaven 
and earth preserved her understanding to the last ; 
and in the time of her sickness, she was in a sweet 
frame of spirit, and uttered many heavenly expres- 
sions near her conclusion in this world, which some 
of us were eye and ear witnesses of; and we believe 
she is inheriting a heavenly mansion, prepared by 
the Lord Jesus Christ, for all his faithful followers." 

Thomas Pockrey, who visited her shortly before 
her decease, upon querying how she found herself, 
she answered: "Very weak in body, but alive in 
God :" he also heard her speak many comfortable 
and excellent words, thus : " The Lord is with me, 
and I am with the Lord, and in Him only will I 
trust and commit all to the divine providence of the 
Lord, both concerning my children and grand-chil- 
dren, and all things they do enjoy from Him, both 
in spirituals and naturals, who is the God of all 
the mercies and blessings to His people, throughout 
all generations : to Him be glorious praises forever. 
Amen." 

Her daughter expressing what a blessed mother 
she had been to her children, and whole posterity, 



MARGARET FOX. 71 

she answered very sweetly : u Cleave to me, and 
yon will not do wrong, for I am joined to the 
Lord." 

At another time she said : " Oh ! my sweet Lord, 
into thy bosom do I commit myself freely ; not de- 
siring to live in this troublesome and painful world ; 
it is all nothing to me ; for my Maker is my hus- 
band." 

" Come, come, pray let us join the Lord, and be 
of one spirit, join to the eternal God, and be of one 
spirit." 

At another time : " Come, Lord Jesus, I am freely 
given up to Thy will." 

Again she said : " I freely forgive all people 
upon the face of the whole earth, for any wrong 
done to me, as freely as I desire to be forgiven." 

And seeing her children sorrowful, she said : " Be 
quiet ; for I am as comfortable, and well in spirit, as 
ever I was." And a little before her close, to her 
daughter Rachel : " Take me in thy arms, I am in 
peace." 

She was interred in the burial-ground belonging 
to Swarthmore meeting-house, the 27th of 2d month, 
many Friends out of several counties being present. 
Thomas Camm, who attended her funeral, remarks : 
"The Lord did eminently appear with us, and 
many testimonies were borne to the honour of the 
truth, and great satisfaction to many there, of 
great quality and degree in the world; and to the 
comfort and edification of all the upright to God; 
to whom belongs the praise of all His wonderful 



72 LIFE OF 

works and marvellous loving kindness extended and 
multiplied, unto and upon His people, in and through 
our Lord Jesus Christ, world without end. Amem" 

In the testimony of her children, concerning 
her, they say : " The Lord so increased her growth 
in the blessed truth, that she became a mother in 
Israel, and was very exemplary and serviceable in 
the church of Christ, strengthening the weak, and 
supporting the feeble. And a great care was upon 
her, and she was very diligent in speaking, and 
promoting the truth of our Lord Jesus Christ, both 
in this nation (where she travelled much), and to 
other nations by epistles : which care she performed 
and continued for many years, until the truth had 
made a larger entrance in the nations; discounte- 
nancing and reproving all false appearances, which 
would have made a show of that which they were 
not." 

"And the Lord made her a preacher of righteous- 
ness, both in a public testimony for the truth, and 
in her life and conversation. And she continued 
her zeal and constancy to and for the truth, in her 
diligent attending of weekly, quarterly, monthly, 
and other meetings for worship, in which she was 
truly exemplary, to very near the conclusion. And 
also, she was raised up, and preserved a noble and 
valiant sufferer for the truth, and its innocent testi- 
mony ) so she spared no labour nor pains, in travel- 
ling to visit those that were under confinement for 
the sake thereof, and was a comfort and strength to 
them therein." 



MARGARET FOX. 73 

Thomas Camm testifies of her : "And as she freely 
denied and despised the glory of this fading world, 
for Christ's and the truth's sake, God gave her 
honour, and a name amongst the righteous, with 
qualifications many ways for a considerable service 
in His church, in which she shined as a morning 
star, being filled with real wisdom and understand- 
ing, for the propagation of truth and righteousness ; 
of a clear discerning of spirits, and the working of 
the enemy, to draw from the life and power of 
truth, into a liberty that genders to bondage, and to 
separation and breach of unity amongst Friends, 
appearing firm and zealous against the same, to the 
comfort and help of many; fervent and living in 
her ministry, and in supplications and prayers to 
Almighty God, to the edifying and building up 
many in that most precious faith, which gives vic- 
tory over the world. Not only a great and exem- 
plary sufferer for the truth, but a visitor and sympa- 
thizer with all the faithful in their sufferings, 
zealously labouring and endeavouring with such as 
were in authority for their relief, as being afflicted 
with the afflicted, and mourning with those that 
mourned, trusting in the Arm of God's power, which 
is the support of the righteous. 

She never spared herself, nor doubted of good 
success, in her manifold labours on truth's account; 
both in her ministry abroad in most places in this 
nation, and other services : but approved herself such 
in zeal that needed not to be ashamed of her work 
and service for the Lord, His Truth, and people in 
7 



74 LIFE OF 

her time, which she performed with all sincerity, 
and is now rewarded with the full fruition of eternal 
life, and peace with her God, whom she loved, feared 
and served with an upright heart, every way faith- 
fully, while God was pleased to give her strength 
and ability to perform the same." 

George Whitehead says : " She had a godly care 
upon her for the sober and virtuous education of her 
children and offspring; and the Lord blessed and 
answered her therein in a good measure, and no 
doubt blessed them the more for her sake, as well as 
for their own salvation, for which she chiefly tra- 
vailed in spirit, and earnestly sought the Lord in 
their behalf, beyond all temporal blessings." 

Beside the epistles addressed to Friends by M. 
Fox, she maintained an extensive correspondence with 
many of the leading and eminent persons in the 
society, in all parts of the nation. Numerous letters 
addressed to her are preserved in the Swarthmore 
collection, relating principally to the difficulties and 
persecutions under which many of its members suf- 
fered, and the various applications made to the 
monarchs, the Parliament and magistrates for re- 
dress. It is very remarkable to observe the respect 
with which she was regarded by the early Friends, 
and the affectionate terms in which they addressed 
her. 

Edward Burrough styles her : " Dear Sister, who 
art a fruitful branch in the living vine, and a plea- 
sant plant in the garden of God." 

And Alexander Parker : " Dearly beloved sister, 



MARGARET FOX. 75 

dearly do I salute thee. Our life is one; our joy 
one ;• our suffering one ; our food and raiment one ; 
eating both of one bread, and drinking both of one 
cup in the Father's house, where there is bread 
enough, and wells of living water to refresh the ten- 
der plants; where the babes are nourished and fed 
with the milk, and receive their meat in due sea- 
son ; where there is joy and rejoicing in the presence 
of the Lord, and pleasures forevermore ; which only 
those do enjoy, who have followed the Lamb through 
many tribulations and fiery trials and temptations, 
and have overcome by the blood of the Lamb, and 
their garments washed white and clean. Hallelu- 
jah ! praises to His glorious name forever, who has 
called and chosen us, and made us partakers of the 
divine nature; and hath redeemed us from the 
world and the pollutions of it : to be witnesses of 
His powerful name ; and in His power and free love, 
hath He sent us abroad into the world, to turn others 
from darkness and their vain conversation; that 
they may have union with us in the light of His 
Son, and praise and glorify His eternal Majesty for- 
ever and forevermore." 

How much she was beloved by her immediate 
connections will appear from the following extract 
from a memorial of her by her sons-in-law, after her 
death : — 

"And as for us, who are her sons-in-law, we can- 
not but give our testimony of our sense of her 
worthiness, and we account ourselves happy, and it 
is a singular mercy to us, that the Lord gave us 



76 LIFE OF MARGARET FOX. 

wives of the daughters of such a worthy person, 
and that we are partakers of their virtuous educa- 
tion, whereby they are made a blessing to us/' &c. 

Indeed, she appears to have been regarded as a 
nursing mother in the church, both spiritually and 
temporally, visiting Friends in prison, entertaining 
them at her house, and freely dispensing of her sub- 
stance for their comfort and support. 

Thus having faithfully served her generation 
according to the will of her Heavenly Father, she 
has passed, we doubt not, to the fruition of that 
glorious reward promised to the righteous, to those 
who, through much tribulation, have washed their 
robes, and made them white in the blood of the 
Lamb. 



EPISTLES. 



(77) 



PREFACE TO MARGARET FOX'S EPISTLES, 



WRITTEN BY HERSELF. 



Friendly Reader: — 

The following epistles were written at the first ap- 
pearance of truth among us, when we were young in 
it: the light of Christ being our first principle, 
our minds beiag turned to it, and it having be- 
come our teacher, leader and guider, we saw per- 
fectly that there was no safety, nor preservation 
out of sin and transgression, but as we obeyed 
the light, and followed it in our hearts and con- 
sciences, it leading out of sin, transgression and 
iniquity : so as we waited in it, and dwelt in it, 
we came to witness a washing and cleansing, by the 
blood of Jesus. And so we came to discern, be- 
tween the precious and the vile, and between the 
holy, and the unclean, and between the chaff, and 
the wheat ; and between those that served God, and 
those that served Him not. And when we came to 
this sight, and knowledge, and discerning, then we 
became very zealous for God, and for His truth, and 
for the preservation of His people in the truth ; and 

(79) 



80 PREFACE TO 

our hearts became tender, and we had a pity for all 
people's souls that remained in darkness. We were 
moved of the Lord to write often to Friends, and our 
testimony was very much to the light of Christ in 
the conscience; because we saw that was the way, 
and there was no other ; for Christ Jesus said, I am 
the Light; He also said, I am the way, the truth, 
and the life ; and there is none that can come to the 
Father, but by me. 

And so we received His Testimony, and could set 
to our seals that this was true. And then we saw 
the great concern that lay upon this, which is the 
salvation of poor people's souls. And we knowing as 
Christ said, they that hated the Light it was their 
condemnation; and also those that obeyed it, it 
would bring them to Christ their salvation; this 
made us very importunate with all people, both Friends 
and others, to direct them to the Light, and obey it. 

And also there being such a body of darkness, 
which warred against it ; for people having lived in 
darkness, out of the knowledge of the Light, it was 
such a new doctrine to them, that there was a mighty 
war in people's minds against it ; and the priests and 
professors setting themselves against it, calling it a 
natural light ; and some said it was a dim light, and 
some scoffingly called it a dark lantern, and others 
said it was not sufficient to condemn : so in their 
dark imaginations they fought against it. And very 
much we had to do in the beginning to get people 
convinced of the Truth, and of the sufficiency of it; 
and also those that were convinced, to keep them in 



MARGARET FOX'S EPISTLES 81 

obedience to it. But the Lord's arm and power car- 
ried on His awn work, notwithstanding all the oppo- 
sition of the power of darkness ; glory and praises be 
to His holy name forever. 

Here are a few epistles preserved, but many more 
are wanting, the copies being lost, with many other 
papers and letters that might have been serviceable ; 
but in love to all people, we bring those that we have 
to open view; that if the Lord give a blessing to 
them, they may be serviceable hereafter, as they 
have been to many heretofore. The Truth is one 
and the same always ; and though ages and genera- 
tions pass away, and one generation goes and another 
comes, yet the Word, and Power, and Spirit of the 
living God endures forever, and is the same, and 
never changes. 

And so, reader, cleave to the blessed Light and 
Truth of the living God, that He hath placed in thy 
heart, and believe in it, and hearken to it, and obey 
it, and it will lead thee in the path that we have 
gone, and then thou wilt see, and feel, and under- 
stand what we have gone through; and thou wilt 
come to be a witness of the living God and His 
Truth, which will be peace and comfort to thy soul. 

The Lord God Almighty open thy heart, and 
enlighten the eye of thy understanding, that thou 
mayest come to have unity with all the saints in 
light. 



82 EPISTLES. 






A GENERAL EPISTLE TO FRIENDS, 1655. 

Friends, whom the Lord God hath called unto 
the light which is eternal, which the Lord God has 
sent, to bring His seed out of bondage, and out of 
the house of darkness, from under Pharaoh, and his 
task-masters, which has so long been held under the 
dark power and mystery of iniquity. The Lord God 
of life and power hath visited you, and sent His ser- 
vants to awaken you, and to raise you from the dead, 
that Christ might give you life, who is now come and 
coming to redeem Israel, and to divide the Red Sea, 
and to overturn Pharaoh and his host. Stand, still 
(I say unto you) and see the salvation of God, and 
in the fear of the living God wait low in your own 
measure of grace, and harken diligently unto that, 
that your souls may live. And this you must do, if 
ever you witness the living God ; so in the name and 
power of the Lord Jesus Christ, at whose name every 
knee shall bow, and every tongue confess, beware 
how you spend your money for that which is not 
bread, and your labour for that which perisheth ; it 
is the diligent hand that maketh rich, but the idle, 
slothful and negligent, suffer want. And beware of 
going from your Guide, which keepeth you low and 
tender, and prize the love of God that ever He 
should visit you; and beware that you do not requite 
Him evil for good, for He is a jealous God, and will 



EPISTLES. 83 

not clear the guilty; it is the low, and the meek, 
and humble that the Lord God teacheth, it is 
the broken and contrite spirit, that God will not de- 
spise. And He, who is the high and lofty one, that 
inhabiteth eternity, dwelleth in the hearts of the 
humble. 

But all who are got up in their imaginations, the 
Lord God will scatter, and the proud, the high, 
and the lofty, the Lord doth resist; and this you 
shall witness, the Lord feeds the hungry, but the 
rich is sent empty away. And they who thirst 
and breathe after righteousness, such the Lord satis- 
fieth. So read, and with the eternal light examine 
and search, and try what it is that you thirst after; 
whether it be righteousness, purity and holiness, for 
these will the Lord satisfy ; and whoever is not thus 
seeking, shall never receive satisfaction from the 
Lord God ; but wrath, and terror, and horror, shall 
fall upon that which is contrary to this. So, as you 
love your eternal peace, and the redemption of your 
souls, keep low in your measure of the living testi- 
mony which cometh from the living God, which is 
one in all, in its measure one; there is no divi- 
sion, no rent, but all one. And this gathers your 
hearts together, and this knits and unites unto the 
body, where the unity is ; and who gathers not here, 
scatters abroad ; and he that is not with us here, 
is against us. So examine, and try whether you 
are gathering now or scattering abroad, with the 
Light which is eternal, which is one in all. Examine 
and try your own selves, I charge you, as you will 



84 EPISTLES. 

answer it before the Lord God; come down and 
stoop to the yoke of Christ, which is easy, and take 
His yoke upon you, and His burden which is light; 
and beware of starting from under the yoke of obedi- 
ence, or pulling away the shoulder; for the Lord 
God requires not only sacrifice, but obedience, which 
is better. And that mind that looks outward, from 
the measure enjoyed, and joins to anything without, 
contrary to the freedom of the spirit within, that 
mind is for judgment. The eternal spirit of God 
is one in all, and that which divides one from 
another, is for judgment, for where division is, that 
is of the kingdom that cannot stand. So read where 
you are, for if you are in that which is divided, you 
cannot stand. So in love and tenderness to your 
souls, I warn and charge you from the Lord, keep in 
the light, which is one, in the power, which is one, 
in the measure of life made manifest in you, which is 
one. And here is no division, nor separation, but a 
gathering and a knitting. And if you love the 
light, then you come to the light to be proved, and 
tried whether your works be wrought in God. But 
that which hates the light, turns from the light, and 
that shall be condemned by the light forever. And 
though you may turn from the light, where the unity 
is, and you may turn from the eternal truth; but 
from the witness of God in your consciences, 
(which he hath placed in you, which beareth wit- 
ness for the living God,) you can never fly; that 
shall pursue you wherever you go. And they who 
turn out from the light, their resurrection is to con- 



EPISTLES. 85 

denmation, and on the left hand they are put among 
the goats, and shall have their portion with hypo- 
crites and unbelievers ; and this shall be witnessed 
forever. 

And this I was moved of the Lord, to write to 
you, in love and tenderness to the measure of God 
in you, with which I have unity, which will witness 
for me forever; and this is in love to your souls. So 
the Lord God of life and power keep you alive in 
that, which He hath placed in you, to His everlast- 
ing glory : for a sweet savour we are unto God, both 
in them that are saved, and in them that perish. 
And beware how you draw back from the everlasting 
truth, that the Lord God hath tendered to you, 
which you shall eternally witness to be of God : for 
he that draweth back, my soul hath no pleasure in 
him, saith God. That which we have heard, and 
have seen, and felt, and our hands have handled, 
even the Word of life which hath been declared unto 
you. 

From one who desires the good of all souls. 

Margaret Fell. 

8 



86 EPISTLES. 



AN EPISTLE TO CONVINCED FRIENDS, 
IN 1656. 

Dear Friends, brethren and sisters in the eter- 
nal light, by which we are gathered, which is our 
teacher and leader : which light conieth from our 
Lord Jesus Christ, the Captain of our salvation, 
in whom is life, and this life is the light of men; 
who has laid down His life for His sheep, and who 
gives unto His sheep eternal life ; and this life is in 
His Son : your righteousness is of me, saith the Lord; 
and this is the heritage of the saints : this you 
are made partakers of, who walk in the light, and 
dwell in the light, you shall have the light of life, 
and come to know the only true God, and Jesus 
Christ whom He hath sent, who is come a light into 
the world : he that believes in Him, shall not walk 
in darkness, shall not perish, but have everlasting 
life. And this is the Father's free love, to send His 
only begotten Son into the world, who is hated and 
rejected of men, but chosen of God and precious, 
who is become the head of our corner : glory eternal 
be to the living God ! on Him are we built, in Him 
are we rooted and grounded : he is our foundation 
and root, we His offspring, on whom we stand fast, 
unmovable. This is the corner stone, which all the 
builders refuse and disallow ; but on this rock is the 



EPISTLES. 87 

whole church built, which is made of living stones, 
elect and precious, the spiritual temple, whose maker 
and builder is God. And now we haying an high 
priest over the household of God, let us draw near 
with a true heart, in full assurance of faith, having 
our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our 
bodies washed with pure water. Wherefore return to 
the shepherd of your souls, an unchangeable priest 
which is made with an oath forever, after the order 
of Melchisedeck, who is made surety of a better tes- 
tament, who needeth not daily to offer sacrifice, but 
he hath offered one sacrifice, and forever is set down 
at the right hand of God, from henceforth expecting 
until his enemies be made his footstool. For by one 
offering he hath perfected forever them that are 
sanctified ; and of this the Holy Ghost is a witness 
to us in the fulfilling of the everlasting promise of 
the Lord God, who hath said, I will put my laics in 
their hearts, and in their minds will I write them. 

Now, dear brethren, of this bear witness, and of 
the truth and faithfulness of the Lord God, you may 
set to your seals, all who abide in the light, and de- 
part from iniquity, who name this name, which is 
better than other names : to which every knee shall 
bow, and every tongue confess. And now that ye 
are made partakers of a living, pure, eternal, immor- 
tal principle, which came from the living God, by 
which you may enter into the holiest, by the blood of 
Jesus, by this new and living way, which He hath 
consecrated for us through the veil (that is to say), 
His flesh : therefore hold fast the profession of your 



88 EPISTLES. 

faith without wavering, for faithful is He that hath 
promised ; and in the straight and narrow way that 
leads to life pass on, that through the straight gate 
you may enter, which few there be that find. Oh ! 
in the eternal light (which is one in all) which leads 
up to the Father of light ; and in the measure of 
light received from the Father and fountain of 
light and life, all wait, and dwell; and to the life 
raised by the immortal "Word of life, join your 
minds; and pass from death to life, that so you 
may come to know and witness the true love that 
is to the brethren, where unity is, whereby you all 
may know that you are true disciples ; in that you 
love one another ; and here you fulfil the whole law, 
and keep the new commandment, which your Lord 
and Master has commanded. 

Therefore, dearly beloved brethren, consider what 
ye are called to, and what ye are made to partake of, 
even of a living, and pure and holy priesthood, a 
peculiar people ye are, and of the holy nation, and 
of the Koyal Seed. Now with the light which is 
eternal, which searches, tries, examines, weighs, 
and makes all things manifest of what sort they 
are; let it search and try you, how you grow up 
in the eternal and immortal birth, and do not de- 
ceive your souls : For except you be born again, of 
water and of the spirit, ye cannot enter. Now see 
whether ye can read this in the light; and whether 
ye know, and see, and witness this in your own 
particulars, yea or nay; and see whether you are 



EPISTLES. 89 

not like Nicodemus, who said. How can these things 
he ? and whether ye are not ignorant of this. 

Therefore come down to the witness of God, 
and deal plainly with your own souls ; and let the 
judge which stands at the door, pass sentence upon 
you. Let the time past suffice, that you have hid 
the talent in the earth, which you have received 
from the Lord to profit withal. And let the earth 
give up her dead, and the sea give up her dead, and 
hell give up her dead, and let all come to judgment; 
and let death and hell be cast into the lake; and 
freely give up that which is for the sword to the 
sword ; and that which is for the fire, to the fire ; so 
those who are dead in sin, may arise. For what 
avails it else, for you to take the profession and form 
of the living truth ? For if the dead rise not, ye are 
yet in your sins, and your faith is vain. Therefore 
see what you are doing : for it is not the sayer, but 
he that daeth the tvill of my Father ; and many shall 
be called and few chosen. Now see with the light 
which is eternal, that ye are not only of the many 
which are called, but of the few which are chosen ; 
and give all diligence not to make only your calling, 
but your election sure. And Friends, your day of 
calling is come ; ye are called out of the world, and 
separated from the world, by the call of the living 
God : the light calls out of Sodom and Egypt, where 
the many are. Therefore do not deceive yourselves, 
for ye are some of the many that are called ; and ye 
are made partakers of that which calls continually, 
the voice behind, which cries, This is the way, icalk 
8* 



90 EPISTLES. 

in it; why will ye die? Now consider, how you 
hearken to this holy call, how you are obedient to 
it, how you are subject, and how you are taught 
and guided, by the measure of God's spirit ; for all 
the children of the Lord are taught of the Lord, and 
in righteousness are they established. Now search 
with the light, which is eternal, whether ye are 
established in righteousness and purity; if ye are 
not, then mind the teachings of the Lord, for he that 
walks in the light, as he is in the light, the blood of 
Jesus cleanseth from all sin. Now examine whether 
ye are cleansed, whether ye are purged, whether ye 
are washed ; for if ye walk in the light, then ye wit- 
ness cleansing and washing. 

Beware of betraying the just and the innocent 
in you (I warn and charge you, as you will answer it 
to the Lord) with a form and profession of the truth, 
without the life, and so betray your own souls ; but 
to the pure eternal principle of the Lord Go4 
turn, and keep your minds unto this, which is given 
unto you, for the redeeming and ransoming of your 
souls from the captivity and bondage of sin and cor- 
ruption ; and hearken diligently to that of God that 
your souls may live; and that you may see your 
Saviour, who saves His people from their sins, and 
so witness the salvation of your souls. Ye are made 
partakers of the free grace of God, which brings sal- 
vation; so let it be your teacher and leader. And 
beware of turning this grace into wantonness, which 
is able to save your souls ; but receive with meek- 
ness the ingrafted Word, that the milk thereof ye 



EPISTLES. 91 

may witness, and as new-born babes, desire that you 
may grow thereby ; and so the Word that is nigh, in 
the heart, which is the Word of faith which we 
preach; which Word was in the beginning (by 
which the heaven and earth were made), which 
we have heard, which we have seen, which our 
hands have handled, this we declare unto you. And 
to the measure of this in you, am I made manifest; 
and my joy and life is, that you would take heed to 
your own measures received, and be true and faithful 
to that which is able to save your souls ; that eternal 
pure redemption ye may come to witness, and the 
unity of the faith, &c, and so joining to the body, 
which holdeth the head, from which the living 
virtue is received, you may grow up as lively 
plants in the garden of God, which he is dress- 
ing, watering, and pruning, that to Him fruit may 
be brought forth, who is the Lord of the vine- 
yard, and the husbandman, who purgeth every plant 
that beareth fruit, that it may bring forth more 
fruit; and every branch that beareth not fruit, he 
taketh away. Now see with the eternal light, whe- 
ther you bring forth fruit unto God ; for every tree 
is known by its fruit ; and every branch, which the 
Lord planteth, brings forth fruit (not only leaves, 
but fruit). Now search, whether you bring forth 
fruit or leaves ; for that tree, that is in the garden, 
and brings forth nothing but leaves, is to be cut 
down. 

Friends, deal plainly with yourselves, and let 
the eternal light search you, and try you, for the 



92 EPISTLES. 

good of your souls ; for this will deal plainly with 
you; it will rip you up, lay you open, and make 
all manifest that lodgeth in you ; the secret subtilty 
of the enemy of your souls, this eternal searcher and 
tryer will make manifest. Therefore all come to 
this, and be searched, judged, led and guided; 
for to this you must stand or fall ; and if you 
turn from this, it is a swift witness against the 
adulterer and sorcerer, and from it you cannot 
flee ; in this I have cleared my conscience ; for the 
good of your souls I have written, who desires 
that you all might be where I am, that so we might 
all be one. And so the Lord God of life and power 
keep you in His fear, that the Lord God you may 
serve and honour; that your hearts may be kept 
clean, and the secrets of the Lord ye may come to 
know, which none* shall ever know, but those that 
fear Him ; and this ye shall eternally witness. And 
therefore I say again, fear the Lord God, that so the 
pure wisdom ye may come to learn; for dreadful 
and terrible is the Lord God; and the day of the 
vengeance of our God is come, in which He renders 
to every one according to his deeds ; the backslider, 
the revolter, the disobedient ones, the careless, the 
slothful, and those whose minds are at liberty, and 
will not abide in the cross of Christ ; all these shall 
receive according to their deeds. 

Therefore, dear Friends, abide in the cross, and 
keep your minds to that which is pure ; so that you 
may come to witness the enmity slain, the hand- 
writing of ordinances blotted out, and nailed to the 



EPISTLES. 93 

cross, and you crucified to the world, and the world 
to you ; and consider one another, and provoke one 
another to love and to good works ) not forsaking the 
assembling of yourselves, but exhorting one another, 
and so much the more, as you see the day approach- 
ing. And dwell in love and unity, in the pure eter- 
nal light; there is your fellowship, there is your 
cleansing and washing. And here is the mystery to 
all the disobedient ones. And the everlasting God, 
of light, life and power, keep you all faithful to your 
own measure ; that so the resurrection and the life 
ye may witness, and the living bread ye may feed 
on, which, whosoever eateth of, shall never die. So 
G-od Almighty be with you, and preserve you all 
faithful in Christ Jesus. 

From your dear sister in the unchangeable love of 
Christ, who desires the good of all your souls. 

Margaret Fell. 



94 EPISTLES. 



AN EPISTLE TO FKIENDS, 1657. 

Dear Brethren and Sisters, who are gath- 
ered in the light of Christ Jesus, the fountain of all 
light, and life, from whence light comes, from whence 
life comes, from whence power comes; which re- 
deems out of nations, kindreds, people and tongues, 
to be kings and priests unto God, to reign with 
Him upon the earth. This is the possession of the 
saints who dwell in the light, that leads them into 
the life and fountain from whence it comes ; here is 
the unity of the spirit, and bond of peace, which 
never can be broken. Here the pure language and 
worship of the Lord is, with one heart, one con- 
sent, and one soul, where there is no division; but 
the pure path of life is known, the way of holiness, 
where the unclean cannot pass, where the presence 
of the Lord is, wherein is fulness of joy, and plea- 
sures for evermore. Now that every one may read his 
name here, in the unchangeable life is this written, 
that the pure life in all may prevail, and that the 
poor may receive the gospel ; which is glad tidings 
of great joy to the oppressed and heavy laden, which 
groan under the bondage of corruption, and cry for 
deliverance; the cry whereof, is entered into the 
ears of the Lord of Sabaoth ; and he hath determined 
in the thoughts of His heart, that the deliverer 
shall come from Zion, and the captivity of His people 
will He bring back, and salvation will come unto 



EPISTLES. 95 

Israel; so that Jacob shall rejoice, and Israel shall 
be glad, glory, everlasting glory be unto His ever- 
lasting arm forever ; by which He gets unto Himself 
a name and victory even to the astonishment of the 
heathen, and to the confounding of His enemies, and 
to the recovering, raising and quickening of many 
who were dead in sins. And though He hath been 
a God unknown, now is He arisen in His light, 
which shineth in the conscience, and He hath 
caused it to shine out of darkness, and it hath 
shined in the heart; which gives the light of the 
knowledge of the glory of God, in the face of Jesus 
Christ His Son. 

And now unto them who have long sat in darkness, 
and under the shadow of death, even unto them hath 
this light shined, who were sometime darkness, but 
now are they light in the Lord, who were dead in 
trespasses and sins, even them hath He quick- 
ened together with Christ, glory and praises be unto 
Him forever. Now dear friends in this quickening 
spirit, wherewith you are quickened out of the sleep 
and death of corruption, where Christ hath given you 
light, walk in Him, learn of Him, who is lowly, who 
is meek; and be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow 
to wrath, and keep down and baulk that part which 
receives a prejudice; search narrowly, and beware 
that you receive it not from a wrong spirit, for that 
will wrong the innocent ; and the simplicity both in 
yourselves and others ; it is hard to know the spiritual 
wickedness in high places, and it is with the spiritual 
weapons of the living God, that you can wrestle with 



96 EPISTLES. 

the principalities and powers of spiritual wicked- 
ness; and it is the brightness of His coming, and 
the spirit of His mouth, that can reveal the man of 
sin, the son of perdition, that sitteth in the temple of 
God, exalted above all that is called God, showing 
himself as God. This is narrow and deep to discern 
between him that showeth himself as God, and is 
not, and him that is the true image indeed. 

Dear Friends, this I write unto you in tender and 
in dear love to the Seed of God in you all, for which 
my soul travails; knowing and being acquainted 
with the danger of this spirit, which measures itself 
by itself, which the Apostle said was not wise, for 
such will boast of things without their measure, and 
will boast of other men's lines. Now that ye may 
know, and feel the life and power of every spirit; 
knowing the pure life in yourselves, you will come to 
savour it in others ; and that which savours of the 
death, will be death to the life, in the fear of the 
Lord God. Beware of stifling the pure birth of God 
in you, and of wronging the pure innocent seed in 
you, which God is coming to plead the cause of in all 
flesh in this day. And beware that you join not with 
God's enemies, either in yourselves or others; but 
join with God's pure witness and testimony, and 
there will be your peace. And here you will know 
Him, who is the life, and the resurrection ; he that 
believes in Him, though he were dead, yet shall 
he live ; and there is no other name under heaven, 
whereby any shall be saved, than by that name, 
which is better than every name ; to which every knee 



EPISTLES. 97 

shall bow, and every tongue confess ; but there are 
none that know this name, but he that hath the 
white stone, in which it is written. 

From a true friend of the Seed of God in all 
nations. Margaret Fell. 



AN EPISTLE TO FRIENDS, 1659. 

My dearly beloved Brethren and Sisters, 
in the everlasting truth, and eternal love, and power 
of an endless life, into which we were begotten, and 
have been nursed up, and kept in, as living stones 
growing up in the temple of the living God; the 
same power and arm is present with you, and owns 
you ; therefore keep in it, and let your faith stand in 
the power and life of God in every particular ; and 
in that book of life will you read me near, as if pre- 
sent, in the everlasting covenant and bond of peace, 
which is never to be broken ; and in that love of 
Jesus Christ, which none can separate us from, 
height nor depth, life nor death. The eternal God 
keep you, who brought again our Lord Jesus Christ 
from the dead, through the blood of the everlasting 
covenant ; and by His blood wash you, and cleanse 
you from all sin, and all that would separate from 
God \ that you may have fellowship one with another 
in the eternal light and life, and there I leave you ; 
and to the Word of His eternal power I commit you, 
and commend you to His eternal Arm, which is able 
to save your souls, and to keep you up to Himself. 
9 M. F. 



98 EPISTLES. 



AN EPISTLE TO FKIENDS IN IRELAND, 

IN 1661. 

My dear love in the Lord God Almighty is 
unto you all, which never changeth, but endures for- 
evermore ; which love as it is lived in, preserves and 
keeps to the Lord God and His commandments, laws 
and statutes ; which love is the fulfilling of the whole 
law of God, and answers to all commands, in thought, 
word and action. And this keeps clean, low and in- 
nocent, and moulds us into its own frame and temper, 
and so brings to be a new lump, leavened into the bowels 
of everlasting love, which reacheth unto all, and ex- 
tends unto all, even unto enemies. Oh ! blessed and 
happy are all they that are come into this sweet being 
of universal love, which would have all to be saved, 
and come to the knowledge of the truth. This is the 
image and nature of the blessed God, that holds forth 
His tender hand, and everlasting love, unto all 
people, nations, languages, kindreds and tongues, 
who is no respecter of persons, but every nation 
that fears God, and worketh righteousness, is ac- 
cepted with Him, whose call is to every one that 
thirsteth, come, and whosoever is athirst, let him 
come and drink of the water of life freely. Oh ! the 
infinite love and bowels of everlasting life and fulness 
that dwells in His blessed bosom, righteousness and 



EPISTLES. 99 

peace is the habitation of His throne. Oh ! my dear 
lambs, let the issues of life be kept open, that issueth 
into your souls, from this blessed fountain, that you 
may feel it always open unto you, and you open unto 
it, that you may always feel it fresh and new, flowing 
into your souls. So will you feel the word of the 
Lord God sweeter unto you than the honey, or the 
honey-comb; and so will you come truly to know, 
that man liveth not by bread alone, but by every 
word that proceedeth from the Lord God; here 
stands the life of men, and so to do the will of the 
Lord God, will be meat and drink unto you, and will 
be more delightful than your ordinary food ; and 
then will not sufferings, trials and hardships be 
strange unto you ; knowing that the Captain of your 
salvation, who is gone before you, is made perfect 
through sufferings; who in the days of His flesh, 
when He had offered up prayers and supplications ; 
with strong crying and tears unto Him that was 
able to save Him, because He feared; though 
He was a Son, yet learned He obedience by the 
things which He suffered, and so must all that follow 
His steps; the servants are not greater than their 
Lord ; and blessed and happy are all they that learn 
this lesson in the power of God, not only to believe 
on Him, but also to suffer for His sake ; for they who 
suffer for Him, shall also reign over their enemies 
with Him ; and in His power will they subdue and 
conquer at the last, for the Lamb and His followers 
shall have the victory. 

And so, my dearly beloved, be strong in the Lord 



100 EPISTLES. 

and in the power of His might, and be faithful, and 
bold, and true to your Maker, and he will be a hus- 
band unto you, and set your feet upon the rock most 
sure, that if the storms beat, and the tempests blow, 
yet you will not be shaken, for He that keepeth you 
is greater than all, and none is able to pluck you out 
of His hand. Into whose arm and power I commit 
you, everlastingly to dwell and abide with the Lord 
God, with whom all things are possible. The God of 
love, whose mercies fail not, preserve and keep you 
all, and nurse you up in His own bosom, to His own 
praise and glory, that you may be a people saved by 
the Lord. 

From your dear friend and sister, 

M. Fell. 



PRINCIPAL WORKS 



MAEGARET FOX. 



Her principal works are: "A Call to the Jews 
out of Babylon/' addressed to Mannassah Ben Israel, 
a famous Jewish Rabbi, then in England. 

"A Testimony of the Touch Stone for all Profes- 
sors, &c, to try their ground and foundation by;" 
both published in 1656. 

"A Loving Salutation to the Seed of Abraham 
among the Jews," &c. 

" Women's Speaking justified, proved and allowed 
by the Scriptures, all such as speak by the spirit and 
power of the Lord Jesus," &c. 

And "A Touch Stone, or Trial by the Scriptures 
of the Priests, Bishops and Ministers who have called 
themselves Ministers of the Gospel," &c. ; besides 
numerous others of minor importance. 

In " A Touch Stone, or Trial by the Scriptures," 
&c, she thus describes the nature, design and effect 
of true spiritual worship, and Christian ministry, 
which she contrasts with the dry, formal worship 

(101) 



102 PRINCIPAL WORKS OF 

which so much prevailed among the professors of 
religion in that day : — 

" Christ when he spake to the woman of Samaria, 
and she told him that their fathers worshipped in 
that mountain of Samaria, Jesus saith unto her, Wo- 
man believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall nei- 
ther in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship 
the Father; but the hour cometh, and now is, when 
the true worshippers shall worship the Father in 
spirit and in truth, for the Father seeketh such to 
worship Him ; God is a spirit, and they that worship 
Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth : and 
to this purpose Jesus spake unto Nicodemus, who 
came unto Him by night, when He said unto him, 
Verily, verily I say unto thee, except a man be born 
again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. At which 
words Nicodemus wondered; but Jesus answered, 
Except a man be born of water and the spirit, he 
cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which 
is born of the flesh is flesh ; and that which is born 
of the spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto 
thee, ye must be born again; the wind bloweth 
where it listeth, &c. 

And to this purpose was the man, whose name was 
John, sent of God, to bear witness of Christ Jesus 
the light, that all men through him might believe. 
He was not that light, but was sent to bear witness of 
that light, that was the true light, which lighteth every 
man that cometh into the world. He was in the 
world, and the world was made by Him. Which 
was born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, 



MARGARET FOX. 103 

nor of the will of man, but of God. John bore wit- 
ness of Him^ and cried, saying, This is He of whom 
I spake, He that cometh after me, is preferred before 
me; and of His fulness have we all received grace 
for grace. 

And to bring people to this light and spirit of the 
the Lord within them, did Christ Jesus and all His 
holy apostles endeavour by their preaching; there- 
fore said Jesus Christ unto Nicodemus, We speak 
what we know, and testify what we have seen, and 
ye receive not our witness. This is the condemnation 
that light is come into the world, and men love dark- 
ness rather than light, because their deeds are evil. 
For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, lest 
his deeds should be reproved; but he that doeth 
truth, cometh to the light, that his deeds may be 
made manifest, that they are wrought in God. This 
is Christ's doctrine and worship. 

"And when He was preaching among His disci- 
ples, and the Scribes and Pharisees heard Him, and 
many believed among the chief, but they did not 
confess Him, because of the Pharisees, lest they 
should be put out of the synagogue; Jesus cried 
out among them, and said, He that believeth in 
me, believeth not in me, but in Him that sent me. 
I am come a light into the world, that whosoever be- 
lieveth in me, should not abide in darkness. And 
if any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge 
him not, for I came not to judge the world, but to 
save the world. He that rejecteth me, and re- 
ceiveth not my words, hath One that judgeth him; 



104 PRINCIPAL WORKS OF 

the word that I have spoken shall judge him at the 
last day. 

"And Christ told the Pharisees that the kingdom 
of God came not by observation ; but the kingdom 
of God was within them. And when He sent forth 
His disciples, He saith, As ye go, preach, saying the 
kingdom of God is at hand. Also when He sent out 
the seventy, He said, Heal the sick that are therein; 
and say the kingdom of God is nigh unto you. And 
we also see by the epistles of the apostles, which are 
left upon record, after what manner of doctrine and 
exhortation they spake unto the people. . . . 

"When Peter speaketh of his beloved brother 
Paul and of his epistles, which he had written, and 
what he spake ; some things, he saith, are hard to be 
understood, which they that are unlearned and un- 
stable wrest, as they do also the other Scriptures, 
unto their own destruction. So they that have not 
the inspiration of the Almighty, and motion of the 
Spirit of the Lord God, the same that gave forth the 
Scriptures, when they come to interpret them, and 
give meanings to them, being unlearned therein, 
they just wrest them to their own destruction, and 
therefore they do not profit the people at all. These 
be they who separate themselves ; men that are sen- 
sual, not having the Spirit. . . . 

"Also the Apostle Paul in Romans, where he is 
speaking of his heart's desire and prayer to God for 
Israel, he tells them, That Christ is the end of the 
law to every one that belie veth. For, saith he, the 
righteousness of faith speaketh in this wise, say not 



MARGARET FOX. 105 

in thy heart who shall ascend into heaven, that is to 
bring Christ .down from above ? or who shall descend 
into the deep, that is to bring Christ up again from 
the dead ? But what saith it ? The Word is nigh 
thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that is the 
word of faith which we preach. 

"And when he wrote to the Hebrews he rehearseth 
the new covenant, that the prophets Isaiah and Jere- 
miah had prophesied of, and saith, this is the cove- 
nant that I will make with them after those days, 
saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, 
and in their minds will I write them. These, with 
many more places of Scripture, might be instanced 
of the apostles, how they ministered both in preach- 
ing and writing. 

"And in the first epistle of John, he saith, That 
which was from the beginning, which we have 
heard, which we have seen with our eyes, and our 
hands have handled of the Word of life : this we de- 
clare unto you, that ye may have fellowship with us ; 
and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with 
His Son Jesus Christ. Here was a right minister 
of God, that would have had those he wrote to, 
be in fellowship with him, who was in fellow- 
ship with the Father and with the Son ; and there- 
fore he saith unto them, these things I write unto 
you, that your joy may be full. This then is the 
message which we have heard from him, and de- 
clared unto you, that God is light, and in Him is no 
darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with 
Him and walk in darkness, we lie and do not the 



106 PRINCIPAL WORKS OP 

truth ; but if we walk in the light, as He is in the 
light, we have fellowship one with another, and the 
blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all 
sin. And again, the same apostle saith, A new 
commandment I write unto you; which thing is 
true in him and in you; because the darkness is 
past, and the true light now shineth. Let that, 
therefore, abide in you which ye have heard from 
the beginning. If that which ye have heard from 
the beginning shall abide in you, ye shall also con- 
tinue in the Son, and in the Father. These things 
have I written unto you, concerning them that seduce 
you; but the anointing, which ye have received of 
Him, abideth in you ; and ye need not that any man 
teach you, but as the same anointing teacheth you 
of all things, and is truth, and no lie ; even as He 
hath taught you ye shall abide in Him : For ye have an 
unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things." 

In "A Testimony of the Touch Stone for all Pro- 
fessors, and all forms and gathered Churches, &c, to 
try their ground and foundation by," she directs 
them to the light of Christ in themselves as a sure 
guide to holiness. A few extracts are given, to show 
her manner of treating the subject. 

" Now is the light of the glorious gospel risen, and 
beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of them 
that bring glad tidings of this gospel, that publish 
peace, that say unto Zion, thy King reigneth. To 
all who desire to know the way to Zion doth this 
voice cry to turn their faces to the light of Jesus 
Christ, who came riding upon an ass' colt, to the joy 



MARGARET FOX. 107 

and rejoicing of all Zion's children. Therefore turn 
again all yon who are wandering from mountain to 
hill, seeking rest but finding none. Turn to the 
light in every one of your consciences; this is the 
word of faith which we preach, which Moses taught 
Israel, and the apostle Paul the Romans, which is 
nigh in the mouth, and in the heart. Here is your 
teacher, if you hearken to the pure light, which 
shows you the deceit of your hearts and your unclean 
thoughts, from which proceeds uncleanness which 
the light makes manifest, which will rip you up and 
reprove you in secret. The Lord God of life and 
power is fulfilling His everlasting covenant in this 
His day, He is writing His law in the heart and put- 
ting it in the inward parts, that none need say know 
the Lord, but all who turn to the measure of God 
shall know Him, from the least to the greatest of 
them. And by no other way or name under heaven 
shall ye know the living God, but by this pure light 
and law written in the heart. Here will ye come to 
witness the Lord to be your God, and your King, 
and your Law-giver, which all the professions of the 
world are ignorant of; therefore to this pure mea- 
sure of God in your inward parts have your minds, 
that ye may come to witness cleansing and purging 
within, that ye may come to see the uncleanness 
which proceeds out of the heart, which defiles the 
man. For out of the heart cometh evil thoughts, 
murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false testi- 
mony, slanders ; these are the things which defile a 
man. 



108 PRINCIPAL WORKS OF 

And now you teachers and professors who look 
without you, and turn from this, which should 
cleanse within, how do you look that that which is 
without you, should cleanse from this uncleanness 
within? Let that of Grod in your consciences see 
how you can be cleansed by this, when ye turn from 
it. But if ye turn to the light which makes these 
things manifest, and dwell and abide in it, then will 
ye abstain from them, and so come to witness 
cleansing. For he that walketh in the light, as 
God is in the light, the blood of Jesus cleanseth 
from all sin. And Christ Jesus saith, A good man 
out of the good treasure of his heart, bringeth forth 
that which is good ; and an evil man out of the evil 
treasure of his heart, bringeth forth that which is 
evil; for out of the abundance of his heart his 
mouth speaketh. And why call ye me Lord, Lord, 
and do not the things which I say? Whosoever 
cometh to me and heareth my sayings, and doeth 
them, I will show you to whom he is like ; he is 
like a man which built an house and digged deep, 
and laid the foundation on a rock, and when the 
floods arose, the streams beat violently upon the 
house, and could not shake it, for it was built upon 
a rock. But he that heareth and doeth not, is like 
a man, that without a foundation built an house 
upon the earth, against which the streams did beat 
violently, and immediately it fell, and the fall of that 
house was great. 

Now professors here's your building, eternally 
you shall witness this parable fulfilled upon you, 



MARGARET FOX. 109 

the tempest and storms are coming, your house 
will be beaten" down, it cannot stand, for you have 
been sayers a long time and not doers of the word; 
your bouse which you have built is without founda- 
tion, it is not founded upon the rock Christ Jesus. 
Ye who deny the light, He sayeth unto you, Why 
call ye me Lord, and do not the things which I say ? 
upon Him shall ye be beaten to pieces, and all your 
profession. It is known and seen, ye are made mani- 
fest, ye cannot hide yourselves. 



10 



110 SWARTHMORE HALL. 



SWARTHMORE HALL. 

The following description, of the present state and 
appearance of Swarthmore Hall, is taken from Arniis- 
tead's Select Miscellanies : — 

" The Hall, though still a building of considerable 
size, is no longer what it once was ; a large portion 
having become ruinated has been altogether re- 
moved; the oriel window from which George Fox 
preached to the people in the orchard still remains, 
and it is believed the owner of the property is 
bound to accommodate any travelling Friend with a 
bed. The hospitality of the Friends of Ulverston, 
however, prevents this right being demanded; and 
no instance has been known within memory, of any 
Friend exercising his privilege. The old bedstead 
bequeathed by George Fox, used to be kept here, 
and may possibly still remain. The room in which 
Friends held their meetings for the first forty years, 
and which were generally graced with the attend- 
ance of George or Margaret Fox, and others of the 
society's parents in Christ, remains in its pristine 
state, having an embrasured window, and a raised 
dais at one end, which served for a minister's gal- 
lery. 

The situation of the Hall is somewhat singular 
and picturesque. Eastward of it, to the bay of 
Morecambe, extends a tract of rich champaign coun- 



SWARTHMORE HALL. Ill 

try, rivalling for beauty, wood and fertility any 
county in England ; the Swarthmore Hall estate for- 
merly comprised much of this. Westward extends 
the bleak tract of Swarthmoor recently enclosed, but 
still strongly contrasting with the rich pasture of the 
opposite view. Northward may be discerned the 
town of Ulverston, and beyond the pointed mountains 
of Coniston and the Lake district. The immediate 
neighbourhood of the Hall is occupied by an ancient 
grove of forest trees, partially screening from view 
the barren common, while at the foot of the orchard 
is a woody dell, through which a stream murmurs 
over its pebbly bed. 

The meeting-house is a solitary building, a quarter 
of a mile from the Hall ; it is entered in the good 
old-fashioned way, through a porch, with a bench on 
each side, and over the door the inscription: Ex 
dono G. F., 1688 (the gift of George Fox, 1688). 
It is commonly supposed he used to attend this meet- 
ing. Such, however, is not the case; he never sat 
in it, being in the south of England from its comple- 
tion until his decease. It was, however, built at his 
cost, and on land given by him — the only piece of 
land he ever possessed in England. On entering the 
passage leading forward from the porch, two black 
ebony pillars, plain and slender, are seen, one on 
each side, supporting the ceiling. They are some- 
times called George Fox's bed-posts, and rightly so, 
being the posts of the bedstead mentioned before. It 
was considered the best way of preserving the two 
principal posts, as well as to bring them under the 



112 SWARTHMORE HALL. 

notice of strangers, to place them in this situation. 
Then there are also two massive arm-chairs, of solid 
oak, adorned with carved work; they belonged to 
George Fox and his wife, and were removed hither 
from the Hall. 

Adjoining the meeting-house is the burial-ground, 
which is somewhat modern. The old burial-ground 
lies at Sunbreak, about a mile and a half distant, and 
is to many a spot of peculiar and intense interest. It 
is at the edge of a barren moor, the higher part of 
which consists of naked limestone, and at the highest 
point of all is the remains of a beacon. About a 
third of a mile south of this beacon, where the culti- 
vated land begins, is a small enclosure, surrounded 
with an eight foot wall, and entered by a low, narrow 
door. This, for about the first seventy years of the 
society's existence, was the burial-place belonging to 
Swarthmore meeting. 

Here lie the remains of many that braved persecu- 
tion and suffering for conscience' sake, and so ob- 
tained for us the privileges we enjoy. Many valiants 
in the cause of truth have here been laid, when freed 
from the troubles of time ; amongst them lie the re- 
mains of Margaret Fox, emphatically a mother in 
Israel, whose sufferings were rendered more poignant 
from previous affluence, her body imprisoned, and 
her estate premunired, yet her noble spirit remained 
unbroken." * 

THE END, 



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